Community Server

 

This week, five lucky Chicago Parent readers will win a copy of “Bee Movie” on DVD. To win, tell us your best or worst bee encounter story. Post your answer here, then e-mail your answer, name and your Chicago Parent ID to e-dition at chicagoparent.com. You must post and e-mail us for your answer to be counted. We will not release your information-it is purely for contact purposes. Some answers may appear in Chicago Parent magazine. Winners will be chosen at random and may have no affiliation with Wednesday Journal Inc. or its employees.

 

This contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated. 

---

Kate Pancero
Assistant Editor/Weekend E-dition Editor
FabMama columnist
Chicago Parent

When I was younger I remember my little brother got stung by two different bees at the same time.  He was probably 3 years old at the time, and was stung on his arm and knee.  Every since then...they have terrified me.

Two years ago we went to Lake Katherines Butterfly Festival in Palos Heights and when we were in line for food my son, (5 years old) got stung by a bee. He started screaming and I didn't know what happened at first. It happened so fast and out of the blue. I think that bee had him pegged. My son started screaming in front of everyone "I got stung by a bee" over and over till I was able to find someone to help me. I've never been stung by a bee and didn't know really what to do. I went into the building and looked for a first aid kit. They had these bee sting wipes that I was able to apply and they seemed to help. This was his first bee sting and hopefully his last. Till this day he doesn't want outdoor recess at school and doesn't want to wear  yellow shirts. (Thats the color shirt he wore when he got stung). He is so scared that he will be stung again!

I was at Girl Scout Camp and enjoying a fun activity on the grass.  I leaned back to prop myself up with my arms and put my pinky finger right on a bee.  It stung me and did it ever hurt!  That's when I learned that the saying "they will only sting you if you bother them" wasn't always true!

This winter my family and I spent a morning at the Chicago Children's Museum. During our stay we encountered the bug exhibit and my 2 year old son was just crazy about dressing up like a bee. He buzzed all around the exhibit and occassionally "stinging" my husband and I. While it may not have been an encoutner with a real bee, we thought is was the best encounter to have as a family.

I have only had two encounters with bees--one real and one possibly fictional.  One October when I was in my late 20's, I was driving in my car and something thumped me on the back of my head.  I immediately turned around only to find nobody there.  It was the strangest feeling.  I knew someone or something had hit me.  After a couple of hours I noticed some soreness and a bump on my head so I knew something really had happened but I couldn't explain it.  A few more days went by and the soreness continued.  I finally and reluctantly went to the doctor fearing he'd think me crazy and much to both our surprise...he pulled out a stinger from my scalp!  I instantly felt relief--both physical and mental that I wasn't halucinating. 

My other encounter with bees is a dream I have probably once each summer.  I dream that I'm outside, I'm a child, and something gets caught in my eye.  I go inside my home where I grew up and find a smushed baby bumble bee in the corner of my eye.  I have no idea if that dream is entirely fiction, non-fiction, or a little childhood mix of both!

My father was a beekeeper so as long as I can remember I LOVE bees. He taught me to understand them, their moods, the structure of their big family.  They will sting only if they feel threatened (  if you put a finger on a bee and push even little, the bee will sting-- in order to protect itself from  being crushed).

I`ve been stung a lot when I was little, but the most memorable story with bees is with my mom. Helping my dad once, she was very nervous( bees can feel that) and she got stung by at least 20 bees! Mostly in the head.. But she was tough and I never heard a word  of complain from her--that helped me to make myself go near a beehive again!

 

Once, when we lived in Cambridge, MA, my husband was out on a bike ride.  He came across a large field that was uncrossable on his bike, so he got off to walk through.  In that field, he managed to get stung on the top of his foot, and then immediately after, when he stepped down, catch a bee between his shoe and his toe and get stung again - OUCH!  Needless to say, he doesn't wear sandals when he's out riding anymore!

---

~Shayna

When I was camping in Wisconsin once, I had a t-shirt and shorts on and I went and tucked in my shirt into my shorts and there was a bee on the end of my shirt.  I got stung in the tummy right at my waist!  It was not fun!

While catching lightning bugs, I was using a margarine tub and trapping the "bug" by scooping it in the top and bottom at the same time.  When the bug wasn't lighting up, I got upset and went to let it out.  When I took the top off it flew out and stung me on my foot.  Lesson is bees don't light up.

Just this past Fall I returned to teaching Physical Education at a Catholic school.  Since we do not have a gym, we do a lot outdoors.     I had just finished discussing outdoors safety rules; including how we need to leave the bees alone in the Fall since they get so aggressive as their food supply dwindles and how many of the current class's children were allergic to bee stings when two of my students decided it would be a great idea to throw sticks at a hive in the tree next to them.  Fortunately for the class and the two students doing the throwing, they were really bad shots and the bees were not disturbed.

My son got stung at Kiddieland. There were tons of bees due to the free soda pop (didn't know about that) spilled on the ground and it being August. He was standing waiting to meet one of the dressed-up characters and got stung on his ear! It was his first sting and took him completely by surprise, poor guy. He's an allergic kid so we loaded him up with Benedryll and headed home after just 30 minutes in the park. Bummer!

When I was 8 playing tetherball, a bee got caught between my first and second fingers and stung me BAAAAD!  My index finger swelled up like a baseball bat!

I remember my first bee encounter. It was July 1976 and I was playing on the back porch on a bright, sunny day. Low and behold a bee stung me on the arm. The pain surged through my arm. I wore my long sleeve white sweater for the rest of the summer to prevent any further bee stings.

My favorite bee encounter was a few years ago when I was teaching a backyard gardening for wildlife for summer camp.  I showed the campers, all in early elementary, how to pet bumble bees.  Several kids were willing and successful!  They were shocked how easy it was.  They rest of the summer they had the best bee-friendly attitude I have ever seen.

P.S.  Unfortunately most stings that occur in Chicagoland are not done by bees, but by wasps like yellow jackets.  They are territorial, hang around food, and can sting multiple times.  Bees are very fuzzy but wasps and hornets look shiny or like plastic.  I work & play in "wild" outdoor areas and have only been stung by wasps.