My first bee sting…how many did I get?

December. Last month of the year. Month of thoughts and self-evaluation. We take this occasion to take stock of what happened this year together with you. Let’s have a look together at my very first year as beekeeper-to-be. So many things to tell…mmm from where to start?? Why not from my very first bee sting? Do you remember when interviewing granpa Heinz I had told you that I had never been stung by a bee? Well, I got my first time me too! And not only once!!! Well, we all expected this, no? But how was it? How was the feeling in the end? Was it much painful? How many times I got stung? When? What was I doing?

Uninjured survived

That’s right, let’s start from the fact that I am not allergic. With great relief of anyone. Actually my reaction to the sting was pretty minimal, just a bit red and slightly swollen. But it could be also thanks to the fact that I got stung in parts that were not that delicate? Or maybe because I have always put immediately some rhubarb (the onion too helps), as suggested by granpa Heinz? Fact is that I managed successfully, that much that granpa Heinz too was impressed. Now I am going to tell you more about these first stings. Yes, because do you remember that I have my diary where I note down all the beekeeping thoughts and adventures? I had already mentioned it when speaking about the very first swarming I had ever seen. As far as my first sting as well is concerned, I took care of noting down everything: where I was, what happened, comments,…I leave you them all here, I have copied them directly from my diary 🙂 enjoy!

The first bee sting…impossible to forget!

24/05/2021

Today is a great day: the very first bee sting of my life!

And where a bee could sting me? Where?! Where if not at my ass?

I was about to sit down on the bench and…right there there was a bee, that of course stang me!

“It huuurts!”

Basti was laughing much. Anyway:

1. Basti never got stung at the ass
2. No allergic reaction and everyone lived happily ever after

The second bee sting is not that less

20/06/2021

Today my second bee sting! And if for the first one they targeted my ass, for the second one we were not that far away! That means? The innerthigh! In this case too the bee was absolutely right, I deserved it.

The bee was having a stroll on my shorts, going more and more towards my innerthigh, she felt in danger and that’s when it happened! Since these are still my first times, I got much scared at the beginning ‘Bastiiii a sting!’, but in the end, for me that I am not allergic, it’s not a problem! Basti came to help me immediately, he took away the stinger (this I still have to understand how to do it well, since I’m still in baby modality so far, like ‘heeelp I want my mooom‘). Actually he didn’t take it away that well because he had just got stung him too right at the index finger, while he was inspecting. Mmmm before getting my first stings, I had always wondered ‘How could it be a bee sting? Will it be really that painful?‘. I was really really worried because I didn’t know what to expect…now that I tested it (it’s true, I’m lucky because I am not allergic and I didn’t get it at delicate areas), I can tell that it’s like when you touch by mistake the thorns from some roses, or when you go searching for blackerries and you touch their thorns. It belongs to that kind of pain, so nothing pleasant but nothing that makes you faint!

Today granpa Heinz reminded me of the rhubarb “Bring it a bit more with you!”, he was sure they would have needed it them too. I went down to take a bit of it (and it’s also its season!), I halved it and scrub its end on the sting, it was a bit swollen and red…now, some hours later, it’s still a bit red, but nothing bad! It slightly hurts when I touch it, but it’s normal! So everything’s fine!

Good things come in threes

3/07/2021

Third bee sting!

Mea culpa

At our apiary, in shorts and sleeveless shirt and so far everything was fine, I was there only for observing. Then Basti decided that my time had come, I mean that he wanted me to check the last hives: the last five colourful hives! I tell him ‘Ok, but I want the gloves!‘, giving for granted that I wanted the protective suit too. However, he comes back only with the gloves and the protecion for the head…mm ok, if he does this, it’s because it’s fine this way. I open the ‘Bali’ hive, I can perceive a certain nervous buzing, I try to take out the first honeycomb but a bee stings me immediately behind, at the shoulder! Seriously? So cruel?!

‘Basti ahi ahi they stang meee behiiind‘ he promptly took away the sting, it was much painful as usual at first! Nothing exagerated anyway, after some seconds it’s already gone. With the tail between the legs, I went to our vegetable garden to take some rhubarb. Always with the tail between the legs I come back to the apiary. Granpa Heinz ‘Ahi ahi ahi Cristina with rhubarb…did they sting you?‘

‘Ja‘ me, pretty sad.

‘But that one was very bad!‘ me to Basti while he was putting rhubarb juice on my shoulder.

After this, I have put on my protective suit and that’s it, ready to start again!

And the fourth time couldn’t miss too!

29/08/2021

Attention!!! Fourth bee sting: this too I could have avoided. Basti was at the beegarden and me in our living room, writing at the blog. Once finished the article, I go out to stretch the legs… There is much movement from the apiary, maybe because of today sun, after 10 days in a row of rain?! It could be! I take the occasion to ask Basti how it’s going and how he is. While he is answering me, a bee starts to walk softly on my wrist, among my bracelets and me, not softly as her, I put my hand on my bum bag. The bee felt the danger to get crashed and stang me… I got it once again!

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So, I got stung four times and defintely in good places. I am not allergic, it was never that traumatic (or maybe I was expecting something worst!?). I would say not bad at all. And you, have you ever been targeted by a bee? How was your first bee sting? Tell us, we would be glad to know more about it! 🙂

A hug,

the Gaeblini