>Dave Green writes:
>>
>>     I'm surprised no one has proposed the best solution - throw them away!
>
>Yup, that *is* the best way.
>
>But I do wish there was an easier way to get  used  to  the  stings.   I
>started  without gloves and swelled up quite a lot the first few times I
>got  stung.   Now  I  react  very  little  and  once  I'm  stung  I  get
>philosophical.
 
<snip>
 
>I always try to work the bees as though I'm not wearing gloves  and  I'm
>rarely  stung  as  a  consequence.  BTW, I count stings into clothing as
>'hits' even if I personally don't feel them.  Most of my stings are when
>a  bee  gets  caught in the folds of the glove's cuff, which wouldn't be
>there to trap them if I weren't wearing them!
>
>>    On second thought, don't throw the gloves away, put them in the toolbox.
>
>Good for weeding out stinging nettles!
>
>>    Maybe I'm a bee venom junkie.  If I don't work the bees for a while, my
>> knuckles swell and get stiff with arthritis.  So I welcome, at least, the
>> first couple stings to get limbered up.  And I like to keep the swelling
>> down, as that inflamation is what destroys the joints.
>
>I  hear  various  friend-of-a-friend  stories  about  this.   You   seem
>convinced  that bee venom does indeed help control arthitis.  Any others
>on the list convinced?
>
 
>        PS -- whilst this is still in my 'out tray'.  True to my promise
>        to  myself,  the  gloves  were  off today.  One sting (back of a
>        little pinky) about 10 seconds after opening the first box, then
>        nothing.   Very  fews  'jumps'  too -- I'm definitely getting my
>        confidence back.  Thanks for your nice gentle encouragement  ;-)
>        Right, now to continue with that spider phobia of mine.
 
Now we're talking BEEKEEPING.
 
If you can't work bees NAKED, then you really don't measure up.
 
Now some of you might think I'm joking, but, as usual,  I'm not.  Usually I'm
not (quite) naked, but put a few dollars down and  we might get there.  I can't
think of many places where I haven't been stung at least once.
 
I usually work in the summer in sandals and cutoff blue jeans and maybe
 a cap (because I'm bald).  I can't stand the heat and awkwardness of suits
and veils.  If the bees are vicious, then maybe they shouldn't be worked
at the moment.  What will the neighbours think (when they are stung on the
way down the lane)?
 
I get stung a bit.  Maybe 100 stings on a tough day, but not really hard stings.
 
You know -- out our way at least -- the bees tend to stand on your wrists and bite
a bit before they get to really drilling.  If you watch, they actually bite, not sting
as if to say "Am I really going to have to *sting* this sucker.  I really don't want
to die.  Maybe he'll take a hint."  Then they sting weakly, and then, if you don't
wise up and SMOKE (or leave)  they *really* get to driving it home.
 
 A little judicious use of smoke helps a lot.
 
I don't keep the queens in my mouth though. (Are you listening, Andy?)
 
I know you can't do this everywhere  --  because I remember going to
Ontario (Canada) one time many years ago to look at some bees I was
going to buy, and, when I walked up without a veil, holding only a smoker,
the owner, a fellow of about sixty, said something to the effect of 'What
are you doing?'.
 
I assured him I did it all the time in Alberta, and he said okay, but I could
see in his mind he was preparing an escape route.  He had been in bees in
Southern Ontario since he was sixteen and knew something I didn't.
 
I found his bees a wee bit testy.  And yet, when I had the rascals back here
in Alberta, they were as gentle as lambs.
 
I must say that Dave sounds like a real beeman and I'll have to look him
up sometime.  We can see who can grow the longest bee beard. I know who
can spin the longest yarn.
 
Actually I find he is quite right about the arthritis.  I had a lot of joint pains
before I got into bees and not much since.
 
My mother has bad arthritis in her fingers and one time -- before I brought
my (deceased) father's bees west, I convinced her to try bee sting treatment
on her knuckles.
 
It was most promising, because her knuckles swelled a bit and itched
intolerably.  However I was unable to convince her to proceed from there.  She
decided arthritis was a blessing compared to the treatment.
 
I have met Chas. Mraz and heard his story.  In fact he administered a bee sting
to my tennis elbow on stage in front of the entire Alberta Beekeepers Association
Annual General Meeting and Convention (which is in November and you all
should attend).  It didn't do a thing.  Not his fault.  In the rush of the moment he
 missed the mark by a cm or so, as I found later by experimenting.
 
Yes, I do believe that bee stings do help with a number of diseases.
 
Allen