Friday Fun Facts – Bumblebee Stings

Today I was barefoot in the back yard moving around a few potted plants when I stepped on a bumblebee.  I got stung on the bottom of my foot.  I knew right away it was a sting!  Yeeeouch!  The bee was fine as she flew away after she popped me.  My backyard has quite a bit of clover in it and the bumblebees visit daily.  Usually I watch where I am stepping as not to bother or harm them, but I was moving a rather large plant and could’t see where I was stepping.  Ugh!

The good news is bumblebees do not lose their stingers when they sting and therefore they do not die.  Honeybees sting once, leaving the barb in who or whatever they stung and then they die.  You can imagine it makes me sad when a bee stings someone because I know that bee is going to die.

As a matter of fact bumble and honey bees don’t want to sting us.  Leaving them alone is the best way to assure that they “stay calm and carry on”, leaving us alone.  I got stung because my large foot was threatening this girl.  Honeybees sting when they feel threatened as well.  Swatting, flailing, screaming, jerking and such only irritate the bees as we must look rather crazy and therefore threatening to them.  We should follow the phrase “stay calm and carry on” ourselves and watch where we step to prevent stings from any type of bee.

My foot is a bit tender right where she got me but no biggie.  If you are stung, especially by a honey bee the first thing you should do is scrape out the stinger asap.  The longer it remains embedded in your skin the more venom goes into you.  Using a fingernail or credit card usually is sufficient to scrape it out.  Next using a paste of baking soda and water, an old wives tale, seems to draw out some of the venom, giving relief to the sting site.  Also OTC Benadryl creams and sprays are helpful in alleviating the discomfort.    IF you are ALLERGIC please seek immediate medical care – 911.