The grass was growing tall around the hive area and since we have ticks and deer and mice all over we stand a good chance of getting bitten by ticks vectored by Borrelia burgdorferi that causes lyme disease - so I did as I do every year and did some mowing around the hive box pictured here and needless to say the bees took umbrage after I persisted for about five minutes or so. Three sacrificed their all (honey bees die after they sting you, as in the process their stinger is torn from their body) for the hive and gave me petite jolts of electricity in my right arm - and like a dummy I kept on mowing rather than immediately removing the stingers (plural, eh?) and then when I finally realized that it wasn't from running over a Yellow Jacket's nest and saw the embedded stinger I goofed up again and removed the stinger by grabbing it with my fingers and pulling it out. This act of squeezing the stinger completely emptied the venom into my arm. Half an hour or so later I have an itching hurting right forearm, that is quickly reddening and swelling - which continues on through the evening. I usually have no reaction other than an 'ouch'!! but now I know about that old axiom that 'experience' is gained from doing dumb things.
