Bye, Bye Bees
Star Beekeeper To Quit Beekeeping
My Yorkshire beekeeper cousin has won numerous awards in the last two years from his local Wharfdale beekeeping association for his honey, heather honey, honey cake, photography and as best newcomer. What a star!
But last season and this season he has received stings that have resulted in trips to hospital.
Are you IgG or IgE? It makes a difference
I have written before about bee stings which are made up of: several toxic substances, several agents that help the venom spread around the body, protein irritants, steroids and an alarm pheromone!
In that post I explained that there are two types of people, those who produce more immunoglobulin G (IgG) and those who produce more immunoglobulin E (IgE). Those who produce more IgE suffer progressively worse from stings. Those people who produce more IgG build up their resistance to stings. It looks like my cousin produces more IgE.
He was very enthusiastic about beekeeping and he invested in a lot of gear but it looks likely that he might have to give it up.
I’m working on him with suggestions of EpiPens, BeePro suits and that his wife is around when he is inspecting … but the consequences of a bad reaction are potentially significant. He is considering immunotherapy but it seems that the effort required and the less than perfect outcome may not be worth it. Let’s hope that research in molecular biology find new ways of protecting beekeepers from anaphylactic reactions.
Simon is not alone. Many, many new beekeepers discover in the first couple of years that they are so allergic to bee stings that they need to give it up.
Advice To Avoid Bee Stings
My top advice to all bee keepers is to avoid stings and hence de-risk the potential of experiencing worse and worse reactions. At least it will delay the point at which you may have to give it up. Here is what I suggest:
- Re-queen aggressive colonies. I have had colonies so aggressive that it is worth leaving them and waiting until April to cull the old queen and re-queen from new source (mated queens are available from April). Read more: re-queening aggressive hives
- Always, always, always wear your bee suit, boots, gloves, thick clothes under the suit
- Buy a quality one piece bee suit (a Christmas present?). The best are from Sherriff (a sponsor of this blog)
- If you are very allergic/worried and have the money buy the Sheriff BeePro suit, an ultra protective beekeeping suit has been specifically designed to protect those sensitive to bee stings.
Stay safe and have a great Christmas.
Read more: Simon’s Beekeeping Year In 2016
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Thanks cousin!
I’m now enrolled on the desensitisation regime at the immunology department of the local hospital. This entails 12 weeks of jabs (once a week) and then I think something like a jab once every 2/4/6 weeks from then for up to 3 years. So more hassle factor than anything else, IMO. This will take my likelihood of suffering a severe systemic reaction from the current 50% every time I get stung to 5% (so like everyone else).
I still have 4 (award winning as you say!) hives and lots of equipment. Still grappling with the concept of no more bees….
That is great news on a number of levels, not least the great honey you are producing. I’m trying to work out how to become a bee farmer and get more bees!
I always enjoy reading your blog, and it’s reassuring to see others who feel sting protection is often underestimated. I’m actually in a commercial beekeeping programme currently at Niagara College in Ontario, Canada, and have encountered some interesting opinions on the subject of protection. The college is very supportive and basically advocates for using any gear we need to feel personally comfortable in our beekeeping. After being stung repeatedly in the hands on several occasions, I’m using gloves (I wear a vented suit as well…summers are quite warm and humid here)…even though I’ve been finding very strong opinions against their use! I’m just not ready to give up the gloves. Even if I don’t have a strong reaction, it’s distracting and frankly, much less enjoyable working with the bees, when one’s hands are swollen. I have a little emergency kit with an Epi-pen that I carry with me, but with the gloves and suit, smoker and calmness, I feel this is something I can enjoy.