Hi all, After 10 year of keeping bees and being stung innumerable times, today I had a very different experience. Generally, I can be stung multiple times and simply have a small local reaction for a short time that I'm sure most of you are familiar with. Well, one of my hives has been a little hotter than usual since being swatted by a bear with a long reach (thru the fence), and today while going into the bottom deep to remove a drone comb frame, I was hit at least a dozen times. Typically, even a dozen stings would only be an annoyance (and I'm not just acting heroic). Today, though, after putting the hive back together (it was the last hive I opened), and putting away my tools, I found myself back in the house, doubled over in pain with intense stomach cramps, slightly dizzy, and ended up crashing for a couple hour nap. By this evening, I'm feeling better, but my stomach still feels worked over a bit. I never had any trouble breathing, never felt my throat closing up, etc - the things I've always thought were allergic reactions. According to the USDA website <http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/ docs.htm?docid=11067&page=1>, "Stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea" are listed as "Systemic, Allergic, or Life-Threatening Reactions" and I'm now wondering if I'm lucky to be here. Was today a fluke? The combination of not a big enough breakfast on a hot, humid day? Or is my body suddenly developing an allergy that I have to worry about? Has anyone else had this experience? Thanks in advance, Kurt Kurt Allerslev Reynertson, Ph.D. Department of Pharmacology Weill Medical College of Cornell University 1300 York Avenue, Box 70, E-405 New York NY 10021 (212) 746 6262 (212) 746 8835 fax *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm