> ...Last summer, after working with the bees I was taking
> off my gear and did not notice the bee on my suit who ended up stinging
> me in the butt.  First and only time in that location.  About 5 minutes
> later I was in distress - heat flashes, sever itching over my entire
> body, hive from head to toe.  I ended up in the emergency room...
 
I've noticed that different parts of the body react differently and parts
that are stung often soon get so there is no reaction there, yet other,
less experienced parts may still swell and itch on being stung.
 
In apitherapy it is claimed that the precise locating of points to be
stung is critical to success.  I suspect that failure of apitherapy in
some cases may well be due to inaccurate work, since comparisions are
sometimes made to acupuncture, and in acupuncture no one thinks that you
can just stick a needle in anywhere and get the desired result.
 
It seems to me that immunity to bee stings has a somewhat local character,
and that even after general immunity is achieved, some parts of the body
may not have 'heard' about it.
 
Allen