Aggressive bees with potent stingers

[BeeMaster2]

Jim, that is sad that your son has such back pain.  I have severe back pain, just wear and tear and up in my years, mid 60s I am, so I have no complaints.  However I hate to think of young fellas going thru what I experience.  May your son get better with age, is my hope.  Must have been in a lot of pain to ask for bee stings.  You have my sympathy.
Blessings

Thanks Van.
What is amazing is something the government wants to be illegal to be used for any reason works much much better and 10 times safer than legal, addictive, opioids.
Life for him now is so much better.
Jim

[omnimirage]

I'm not bothered by when I get stung a couple of times. It's more when I get stung dozens of times. I'm not so phased by beestings either, but I do have my bad days and I've been teaching myself ways to be safer with it.

Do the bee stings run out of venom after a short period of time? I've been going through great hassle to remove stingers, it's particularly bothersome when they get in my suit as I have to get out to remove it. If the venom does run out so quickly, then it wouldn't be worth trying to remove it if it takes for example more than half a minute.

[BeeMaster2]

I have a friend that survives on bee stings. She says she leaves it in for 20 minutes. Seems like a very long time for a stinger to be able to keep pumping. She has been doing a sting a day for about 20 years and she is considered an expert in apiary therapy.
I know another woman that has been doing it for 30 years but she never mentioned how long she leaves it in.
Jim

[eltalia]

@omnimirage sayed; "If the venom does run out so quickly, then it wouldn't be worth trying to remove it if it takes for example more than half a minute."

The muscles around the sacs can be seen pumping with the naked eye - or at least back when one could - and
that time has never been counted by myself, but from tissue reactive within some body zones I'd say at least
60seconds, maybe as much as 180.

This guy did some work I lean to agreeing with, mainly because of his venom container selection. The pain
levels charted are also pretty close to my own experience.
https://peerj.com/articles/338/
"A sting from a honey bee is familiar to many because of its world-wide distribution. The sting can be reliably provoked, and standardized, making it an ideal experimental stimulus."

The point of the exercise I laid out is that there are two stages, the second phase being the crescendo of pain
levels until the venom pumps in whereon swelling occurs, and for many that pain of swelling is greater than
the whole of the initial event, and way more enduring.... days for some folk I have known.
Hence prevention (scraping off) is the path to confidence.

Bill

[omnimirage]

Good to clarify thanks.

[Acebird]

I've been going through great hassle to remove stingers, it's particularly bothersome when they get in my suit as I have to get out to remove it. If the venom does run out so quickly,

It does but it is not just the venom that is a concern.  The longer the stinger is in the wound the greater the chance of germs getting under the skin.  Some of the after reaction can be staff or any other infection the body has to combat.  Staff can kill.  The sooner you can get the stinger out the better regardless if the venom sac is empty.  If you are taking a lot of stings you should wash your suit because the pheromone left behind could be the reason you are taking a lot of stings.  Secondly, any germs on the suit will be deposited under your skin when the suit gets penetrated.
Most people intentionally taking stings don't have suits on.

[eltalia]

Good to clarify thanks.

..no worries fella, happy to shine some light on confusion
even if it does not change a lot of the habit.
I am pretty sure you're the same bloke moving bees up
Adelaide Hills way, so if it helps, try between 8AM and 11AM
for your work window. And on days those NorWesters come
whistling through - after lunch -  put yer feet up and have a
pale ale...or three ;-))

Bill

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Just as note, as you may already know:

Stinger of the honey bee:

Just the stinger, not talking about the venom sac.  A STINGER IS COMPOSED OF THREE ITEMS;
1.  a central pointed smooth hollow shaft.

2 and 3.  This hollow shaft is covered by TWO independent barbed sleeves perfectly contoured to the shape of the central hollow shaft and the barbed sleeves oscillate back and forth in harmony.  As one barbed sleeve goes down the opposing sleeve goes up.  Thus a up and down motion of the barbed sleeves.  This oscillating (up and down) drives the stinger deeper into the flesh with time.

Blessings

[omnimirage]

That wouldn't be me moving bees up Adelaide Hills eltalia! :)

Never knew the stinger penetrated deeper with time.

[Acebird]

This oscillating (up and down) drives the stinger deeper into the flesh with time.

That will make a big difference even if the sac is empty.