If you see a swarm of bees then you are highly unlikely to be stung by them. When bees swarm, they gorge themselves on honey first to take with them from old home to new, and this makes them very docile.
It is this habit that is used when a beekeepers smokes their bees when they open the hive. The smoke itself doesn't 'calm' them; they see the hive as being under threat and crawl down onto the frames to 'rescue' honey to take with them if they need to leave. And it is easy to collect a swarm. Last year there was one in the school grounds where Richard was working. Armed only with an old printer box and wearing a short sleeved shirt, he just shook the swarm into the box and then carried it home to put into a hive. He was very upset that one of the bees got lost on the way into the hive (you tip them onto the ground and they crawl in by themselves) and crawled up his trouser leg. When it reached his knee and couldn't go any further, it panicked and stung him. He know has three hives of bees bred from that swarm and they are extremely gentle; that sting on the knee is the only one he has had from them. If I am in the garden and they bump into me, they almost apologise as they fly away! Suzy, most people will not have anything more than a temporarily painful sting from bees and wasps - an icepack will very quickly remove most of the pain. The site may then probably be itchy and swollen for two or three days. If you are stung on your hand it is a good idea to remove rings in case your fingers swell. A sting on the outside of your throat is no more dangerous than most other places. The two sites where you should seek medical advice are if you get stung in or very near to your eyes, or more dangerously inside your mouth. This can happen if you take a mouthful of drink that a wasp has attracted to. So don't leave drink cans open if there are wasps around, because you can't see in before you drink! Either use a glass or a can lid. If it is a bee sting then the poison sac attached to the sting may well be left in your skin (the bee dies so they only sting if they have to!). If you see this, use a finger nail or the blunt edge of a knife to scrape the sting out. Don't get hold of it and pull, because as you do you will squeeze more poison in. The type of reaction needing an Epi-pen is much rarer, and you will know about it because you will have had a severe reaction to a sting which sensitises your body; it is further stings that are life threatening, and the doctors will have advised you to carry the Epi-pen. As to the red worm that Rikki saw. Do you have slow worms in America? These are not worms at all, or snakes, but legless lizards. They are completely harmless, but do look a bit wormlike as they don't have the wider, snakey head. They can also move very quickly. We find them in compost heaps and the like, where it is warm, or basking in the sun on hot days. Jacquie in England To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
