Thomas Hoyt wrote:
Should I try to get MORE stings - and hope that each will hurt less?
Should that build up an immunity (less itch & swelling) over time?
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     Many beekeepers appear to be immune to bee stings.  After
twenty-five years of keeping a few hives, I have not become immune and
stings hurt just as much as they ever did.  The appearance of immunity
may be helped by these things:
     1.  I'm more tuned in to the bees now than I was when I started,
dressed in long pants and wearing gloves. So, while I wear less
protection (short sleeves and trousers and no gloves), I am also quicker
to scrape away the stinger when I do get stung and to brush away (or
dispatch) the bee that is trying to get a grip on my skin so she can
sting me.
    2. If the bees seem agitated, I put the cover back on and return at
another time.
    3. If I open a hive at night (or at night in the rain!), I know what
is likely to happen and I plan ahead and work quickly.
    Years ago, when I was a new beekeeper, I watched an ancient
gentleman working bees and marveled that he did not get stung.  Then I
saw a bee sting him; he did nothing but just went on working.
     Recently, as I prepared to open a hive with a new, teenage
beekeeper, I was explaining that she would probably not get stung.  When
she hesitated, I said, "You don't believe me, do you?"
     "No," she wailed, "because you don't care if you get stung!"
      That is likely one of the things that separates new beekeepers
from long-time beekeepers.
Tim
--
Tim Sterrett
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(southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA
40.0 N 75.5 W