"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message t
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

Bumble bees CAN sting but they rarely do, they have to be provoked,
you were
unlucky. Don't let it put you off!

I even spoke to her first to explain :-) Maybe she was a deaf bee.

They don't have ears. Now if you'd sent the right vibrations through her
legs or antennae you might have had a better chance :-)


Bumble bee stings are smooth, not barbed as they are in honey bees,
which is
why they retain them when they're used.You won't have caused any damage
to
the bee.

That's interesting. Now I'm wondering if she only stung me a very
tiny bit, or, did I get the full bumblebee dose? It was certainly less
painful than a honeybee sting ( red mark but no swelling).

The pain is related to your own body's reaction and where you're stung. I've
never had a bumble bee sting and have handled hundreds so don't know what it
feels like. But that could be my good luck! Swelling is normal and although
it can be very painful and uncomfortable it's not dangerous - it's called a
'local' reaction. If you have a general rection you know about it - but you
wouldn't even have that with every sting and certainly not the first in a
season.

Also, male bees cannot sting, honestly! But there aren't any about
yet, they
haven't been born.

Thanks Mary..they are fascinating creatures. Our predecessor here
kept 11 hives in the garden which he would have liked me to take over
from him, but I declined because one of my sons has a severe reaction
to bee stings (among other things).

Apart from any other consideration no-one should take over any kind of
animal husbandry without researching it first and getting some hands on
experience. You were wise.

Someone else took the hives, but
I've got a painting of them and buy their honey.

Good for you!

But please don't be nervous of bumble bees, you really were unlucky. Think
of them as flying teddy bears!

Mary

Janet.