ML<>To:            PCCSSW.MAILER SSW[PCCSSW.MAILER]
  <>From:          Mihaly [log in to unmask]@FDAORAPAR
  <>Date:          Wednesday, April 26, 1995 at 11:31:09 am EDT
 
ML<>Does anyone know if there are any flowers or other nectar sources that
  <>produce a toxic honey and if so what are the toxins. Also an off the wall
  <>question : Can a queen bee sting while laying an egg or are the functions
  <>mutually exclusive? Thankx  Mihaly ([log in to unmask])
 
Hello Beeman Mihaly!
 
I'll take a stab at the off the wall questions...
 
I will pass on the first question, but know of no reports of toxic
honey that affected people the last 40 years in my part of the world.
 
  As for laying queen's stinging. I suspect they can not do it at the
same time as laying a egg but anyone's guess is as good as mine on that.
 
  It is rare for a queen to sting anything but another queen, but they
can be induced to sting a human. I have been stung more then once, and
by accident discovered a sure way to get them to sting.
 
  One nice afternoon late in the queen season here I was helping a
friend catch the last run of queens. We were doing better then planned
and ran out of cages, so he went for a new supply leaving me to twiddle
my thumbs. I was enjoying the good catch so I continued to work, putting
the extra queens in my mouth, what the heck I am only a beekeeper, why
not? Anyway after I got 5 or 6 held gently in my oral cavity they
decided to fight it out or fight their way out, must be the Red Man or
something, but they gave me a few good shots with the old stinger, but I
managed to hold my ground and did not spit any out or swallow any, and
they were not harmed as I used them that afternoon. I did repeat the
experiment in the interest of BS (bee science) to see if other young
gueens would sting me, and they did.
 
   Other then that I have been stung only once or twice by queens
catching and caging them for shipment.
 
                                ttul Andy-