Category Archives: Stings

What if my pet gets stung?

Posted on June 17, 2018 by

Calgary has a dry climate. After it rains, some of our bees celebrate by sucking cedar water from our deck. I’m not sure what the attraction is, but a few bees always sit on the wet deck and lap up … Continue reading →

Posted in Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Metallica’s Beekeeper

Posted on May 13, 2017 by

Last year, I wrote about the indomitable guitar man and bee guy Steve Vai. He’s a master of the strings and knows few equals. He’s also quite an experienced beekeeper.  Now it’s Mr Metallica, James Hetfield, who draws my beely … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, People, Stings | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

World Apitherapy Day

Posted on March 30, 2017 by

On March 30, we usually celebrate World Apitherapy Day at our house by eating fried drone brood seasoned with dandelion pollen and buckwheat honey while receiving a few intentional bee stings on our finger tips. What a fun day! I … Continue reading →

Posted in Apitherapy, History, Hive Products, People, Stings | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

How Can I Stop Wasp Attacks?

Posted on September 17, 2016 by

A few days ago,  I wrote about the way new beekeepers are generally sure about the right way to keep bees while oldtimers are reticent when it comes to answering questions. Sometimes there are a dozen ways to solve a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Stings | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

EpiPens: $250 in USA; $85 in Canada

Posted on August 24, 2016 by

Here’s something sure to stir controversy. The price of the life-saving EpiPen went from $50 US (in 2008) to somewhere between $250 and $400 US this month. That’s if you live in the USA. This morning, I was at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Stings | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Good News: No Killer Bees at the Olympics

Posted on August 21, 2016 by

Whatever happened to the Killer Bees? Killer Bees – more accurately, hybrids of European and African honey bees – were supposed to destroy the world, or at least kill a lot of people trying. They started out in Brazil, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Diseases and Pests, History, Humour, Killer Bees, Movies, Stings, Swarms | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Reason to Avoid Walmart?

Posted on August 8, 2016 by

Sounds like a drug deal gone wrong. They met at a Walmart parking lot to do their business, the public panicked and three bystanders ended up at hospital. It turned out to be a sting operation. The deal was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How the Honey Bee Got its Stinger

Posted on December 14, 2015 by

This will sound like a Rudyard Kipling  Just So Tale. But it goes back a lot further than the early 1900s. The Bee and Jupiter is credited to Aesop, of Aesop’s Fables Plus Punchline fame – and he lived 2,400 … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Humour, Killer Bees, Stings | Tagged | 1 Comment

Stinging Science

Posted on September 18, 2015 by

I wrote about this fellow last year. He likes to get stung for science. Below, I’ve repeated my blog, The Worst Place to Get Stung, from September, 2014. The big news is that the research scientist – intent on finding … Continue reading →

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A Bee Won’t Hurt You If . . .

Posted on July 16, 2015 by

The city of Edmonton, Alberta, is telling its citizens that bees are good. People sometimes forget. Not long ago, Obama was trying to calm screaming kids on the White House lawn when one child spotted a bee and dozens panicked. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Outreach, Stings | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment