licK-hi^tping 'in V ictoriu. 15 



become more or less immune, even though the first few stings caused con- 

 siderable pain and swelling. With the right strain of bees ; an undei stand- 

 ing of their habits ; correct methods of handling ; and a knowledge of 

 irritating causes the largest apiary can be run without more than an 

 occassional sting being received. 



Of late years bee stings have been used by medical men for the cure of 

 certain forms of rheumatism. That the poison of the sting has no lasting 

 injurious effect upon the human system seems evident from the fact that 

 many prominent men who have lived amongst bees all their lives have 

 attained to extreme age, c.<.'., Dr, Dzierszon, Rev. I.angstroth, Dr. C. C. 

 Miller, A. 1. Root, and others. 



To avoid stings as much as passible one should dress in light coloured 

 clothes, bees have a rooted objectjon to anything black, and more so 

 when it is rough or fuzzy The odours of such tilings as camphor, 

 kerosene, turpentine, eucalyptus oil, carbolic acid, lysol, dogs, horses, 

 ants, or meat, on the hands or clothes of the operator, or anywhere near 

 the hive, will cause bees to sting. In their attacks on trespassers (as in 

 their search of nectar) bees are largely guided by the sense of smell. The 

 odour of flowers attracts them to the spot where the flowers grow, while the 

 sense of sight locates the blc«som. 



When approaching a hive one should walk lightly and avoid standing 

 in the line of flight of the bees leaving the hive or returning to it. Before 

 opening the hive blow a whiff of smoke from the smo.ker in at the entrance, 

 and another one or two over the top of the frames as soon as the hive cover 

 is raised sufficiently. When these precautions are taken there need be little 

 fear of stinging unless the bees are of a vicious strain, in which case the 

 queen should be removed and one from a gentler stock introduced. There 

 are, however, occasions when even the best tempered bees will sting more 

 or less viciously For instance, when a honey flow has suddenly ceased 

 and bees have had access to honev other than the nectar in flowers ; or 

 when a colony has become hopelessly queenless, which means that they 

 have no queen and no brood to raise one from. The remedv in the first 

 case is never to allow bees access to honey outside the hive, and not to 

 open hives when robber bees are seen hovering round. In the second, give 

 the queenless colony a comb of brood from another hive, or introduce a 

 queen. 



To reduce the effect of a sting to a minimum it should be quickly 

 removed, when very little of the poison will have entered the puncture. 

 The sting itself is a sharp-pointed and barbed hollow shaft connected 

 with the poison sac in the body of the bee. When the sting has entered 

 the rubberlike human skin it cannot be withravi'n on account of the barbs, 

 and in the effort of the bee to free itself the sting with the poison bag, 

 and the actuating muscles attached, is torn from the abdomen. The 

 muscles may be seen to continue working sometimes for many seconds 

 after the sting has become detached from the bee and it is therefor ad- 

 visable to immediately remove it from the skin. This is best done b\ 

 scraping it away with the fingernail or if both hands are engaged rubbing 

 it off on your clothes. On no account should a sting be picked off with 

 the finger tips because that cannot be done without pressing the poisoi 

 bag and injecting the whole of its contents into the skin. 



To neutralise the effects of a sting a number of remedies are recom- 

 mended. The blue bag is the most commonly advocated cure — I am no', 

 at all sure whether green or 3fellow would not do as well. 



