> McManus wrote, "Today while talking with another beekeeper and standing about
> ten feet from the nearest hive, I got stung on the face by one of the little
> girls that carried a grudge. I had not been working any of the hives or
> disturbing them in anyway. The sun was bright and the temp. was 72 F., about
> 1:30pm, flight was on in the full." Why the sting?

I suspect that scent and color are both factors in stinging behavior. I have
witnessed stinging when visitors using strongly scented soaps, deodorants,
perfumes and/or hair sprays were present near the hives even under ideal flying
conditions. I have experienced an infrequent sting whenever I wear a red shirt and
walk directly in front of the hives. We generally have no sting problems when
wearing light gray or light tan clothes and no strongly scented body products.
Here, we use homemade soaps containing honey, beeswax and other natural
ingredients for washing and showering. I hope this information will be helpful.

Wade
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