A friend is visiting this weekend, and last night I was excited to show her my bees. We went over to the hives, had our head gear on, she stood a few feet back. The lid was sealed with propolis, a sealant created by the bees from tree sap. I tried to pop the top off, but sliced my thumb in the process.
I may have bummed the hive as well, but it could just be that it was already too late in the day to go into the hive. In any event, as soon as I lifted the cover--as soon as I lifted, not even an inch high--a score of bees flew on me stinging my shirt, my arms, and my hat. I took four in the arms, and three on my back through my shirt.
I closed the lid quickly and, with the bees still trying to get me, buzzing angrily much too close to my ears, we retreated to some trees. Bees get confused when you stand under trees so they leave you alone.
The stings didn't hurt so bad, just like pin pricks. But over the next three hours I started to itch in strange places. The palms of my hands. My scalp. My toes. My forearms started to swell, and I had red blotchiness under my armpits on my arm and chest. The redness spread a across my chest and down before I went to sleep.
Now it's the morning. Everything is fine except my forearms, which are still swollen. I'm not sure why they're still like this. Maybe because the blood isn't circulating the venom out. They're just really sore. We'll see how things go. I'm going back in the hive, today. During the day. When it's sunny out. I've learned that lesson. But I had been wondering what a bad beekeeping experience would be like, and that was clearly it. Lessons learned. Curiosity satiated. I hope this never happens again, because it is really not enjoyable at all.
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