Hi All In a recent post Sid Pullinger mentioned that he once bought an old button to replace a lost buttong on his apiary jacket. (Wow a button up jacket - here we have to use velcro and even then more than a hundred crawlers have managed to get me at times) Well a few days I was playing chace the dog bone with my young and exuberant ridgeback. I jockingly put the bone on the entrance of one of my hives because I know he is terrified of bees and would not go near. The bees went balistic and covered the bone, stinging it (bones can be stung!!) and then covering the whole front of the hive in a mass of bees. I thought that was interesting. But now that makes me think - Sid mentioned that certain individuals get stung more often than others and that it may be body chemistry reflected in breath. Previously I have mentioned that there is in africa also a question of race with how bees react. My deep down feeling is it has something to do with fat metabolism. Note the bone was covered in dog spit. The dog had been running around - some fat break down products will be acetates that will come out on the breath and may tirgger the bees. Just my theory. Keep well Garth PS - For what its worth discovered that it is possible to be stung over 150 times in half an hour and still have a full days beekeeping ended with an hour of e-mail! --- Garth Cambray Kamdini Apiaries 15 Park Road Apis melifera capensis Grahamstown 800mm annual precipitation 6139 Eastern Cape South Africa Phone 27-0461-311663 3rd year Biochemistry/Microbiology Rhodes University Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post in no way reflect those of Rhodes University.