Eunice D. Wonnacott writes of giving up beekeepiung due to a bad experience with a yellowjacket (sting?). While I was being desenitized to assorted insect venoms (including honeybees and yellow hornets). I pumped my allergist about cross allergies. Her reply was that the venoms from the different stinging insects were all different, and that how a person reacted to one venom was not a good predictor of how one would respond to any other venom. The venoms used for testing/desensitization were specific to each stinging insect of interest. Summary: Being allergic to one stinging insect does not mean you are allergic to any other stinging insect. W. G. Miller Gaithersburg, MD