Club Bee

HAGLEY & STOURBRIDGE BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION

BEE STINGS

Beekeepers generally wear protective clothing to guard against bee stings, although bees may succeed in getting through. Most beekeepers build up an immunity to stings and although they are painful they rarely cause after effects.

A Worker Sting

The sting is barbed and catches in human skin, so after it has delivered its sting the bee is disembowelled and dies. The poisonous sac which supplies the sting will continue to pump venom for about three minutes, so the quicker the sting is removed, the less severe the effect.

A Queen Sting

Stings are best treated with antihistamine cream and a cold compress to reduce the pain and swelling. A very few people are hypersensitive to bee stings and may suffer an allergic reaction, becoming unconscious shortly after being stung. In such instances a doctor or ambulance should be summoned immediately and the patient should be put in the first aid recovery position.