I’m OK with most bugs and snakes and so on, but I was swarmed and very badly stung by bees as a kid and to this day remain mildly phobic. However, I do plant flowers and vegetables that attract pollinators and don’t kill off hives unless they are a: yellow jackets or other aggressive wasps or b: right next to my house.
I do have a question, though. Since in my line of work I’m often outside, I have noticed that “flower colored” clothing seems to attract more bees, and consequently, bee stings. Orange, pink, lavender, yellow, etc. Is this a valid supposition or am I off-base?
I was wearing my bright flower bathing suit the other day in the pool, and a couple bees landed on me. Oddly enough they haven’t landed on me any other days while I was wearing that suit - just the day it was really overcast! Like I was a bright beacon of color to them or something.
15 years ago, I was cutting the grass and I must have dinged a wasp’s nest (in/near the ground?), 'cause one of the little bastards got me on the ankle and I swear that ankle was “iffy” for the next two years.
Got stung by a wasp a couple of weeks ago right on the back of my index finger. I instantly thought of the scientist (entomologist?) who allowed himself to be stung/bitten/etc by various insects in order to rank the various levels of pain. Wow, it was intense. At least it wasn’t an Asian Giant Hornet.
Never been stung by a bee, but a wasp got my hand good a year or 2 ago and the pain wasn’t so bad, but the resulting itch was so intense I went to the doc. Can’t remember what I got, a shot, cream and steroids I think.
I havent been stung in 30 years and that time was a wasp. It was on a raft floating in a swimming pool and I came up from underwater and put my hand on it.
About 20 years ago my mom started complaining about the ‘flies’ that were stinging her while she sat in her chaise lounge on her deck reading the paper in the morning. One morning I happen to be there while she was laying there reading and she starting swatting at the flies. I turned around and saw something out of the corner of my eye which I first thought was a giant grey bird clinging to a crevice in the house bricks but which turned out to be a massive beautiful yellow jackets nest about 2’ x 3’ surrounded by a cloud of yellow jackets. We both screamed and ran into the house. I called a bee removal specialist who lamented that it wasnt possible to wrangle yellow jackets and about how it was a shame to destroy such a work of art and then he put his bee suit on, smoked it, knocked it down and set it on fire. I’m still amazed that the entire swarm had never descended on my mom all at once at some point.
