>
> > Are you saying it's more dangerous to be stung a
> handful of times per year (as far as venom allergies go) than being stung
> many, many times? So a commercial beek, who is stung all the time is less
> at
> risk of developing an allergy than a hobbyist, who is stung occasionally?


Seems to be the case.
I can't cite the sources, but here is some old information that I read.

Family members of commercial beekeepers develop bee sting allergy far more
often than the beekeepers themselves (1 out of 5 family members), due to
infrequent stinging.  Most beekeeper families develop such a member.

A French study found that if you receive fewer than 25 stings per year, your
chances of developing a sting allergy were about 40% in your lifetime.

However, if you receive 50-200 stings per year, the chances drop to 10%

If you receive over 200 stings per year, the chances of becoming allergic
drop to zero!

That said, I and others miss stings when we've gone without.  The body seems
to crave, although no one enjoys the pain.

As Bob says, with enough stings, the swelling and itching reaction
disappear.  People often ask me if I ever wear a veil (I often do when doing
production work).  A sting to, e.g., my lower eyelid barely causes any
swelling (but often an expletive).  But I make all visitors always wear a
veil.

Once you build immunity to stings, it is a pleasure.  You don't feel the
need to wear hot, bulky gear.  You have much greater dexterity, and can
"read" the bees better.  Plus, it appears to balance your immune system.

As Bob says, we must work in all conditions, and I put on gloves without
hesitation if I'm getting more than about 25 stings per day.  Otherwise,
no.  Indeed, I recently looked for my gloves, and realized that I'd
misplaced them for about two weeks, and hadn't noticed.  This is while we
are splitting colonies and checking nucs for queens every day all day, with
a light nectar flow on.  When the nectar flow ended, I looked for my gloves.

Bottom line, by avoiding getting stung regularly, you are likely setting
yourself up for developing an allergy.

Randy Oliver

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