Computer Software Solutions Ltd wrote:

> Sometimes I get as many as 30 to 40 stings in a session of examining hives,
> although it is sometimes difficult to judge the number of stings due I would
> imagine to the fact that my hands are in such pain, that after a certain
> point I do not feel the extra stings....

> I must also say that I get an excellent measure of the docility of a hive by
> working without gloves, some hives do not give me even one sting at times.

You don't say how many hives  you usually work in a session.  When I requeen,
I usually look through 10 to 20 hives a day, and I might get up to a total of
about 20 stings.  If I get more, I make sure that the particular nasty hive in
question gets requeened totally.  If the hive is normal, I don't get a sting,
except the odd accidental one.  Like you, I hate to work with gloves, and will
only go to them in a dire emergency.

What I really don't like, however, is when a colony is extremely flighty, bees
bumping into the veil continually.  Then often a couple get inside the veil
somehow, and I don't notice until one flies into my face.  Stings on the hand
and wrist are OK, but those on the head and neck are not fun (expecially those
on the lip or in the mouth).  When I get into one of those colonies (usually
very rare) I secure my veil again, go back and kill he queen immediately and
requeen or combine with a gentle colony.

Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA