The months following my internet purchase of bees consisted of prepping the hive, reading beekeeping books, and telling friends, neighbors and family members about my decision to become a beekeeper. The reactions from all parties varied dramatically on the last count. Almost everyone to whom I mentioned my new hobby asked me for a jar of honey. With all the jars that have been requested by friends and perfect strangers I don’t think I’ll have any honey available for mead for several years. (Sorry friends – mead first.)
Universal requests for honey aside, there were three schools of thought on the subject: those who were enthusiastic, those who were neutral and those who strongly opposed the idea or thought I was completely crazy. I must admit there were not many in the latter category (thankfully). Our neighbors, coworkers and friends were enthusiastic and frequently would ask when “the girls” were coming to town. (For those who aren’t aware 95% of bees in a hive are female. The male drones serve no function other than to mate with other colonies’ queens, so many people omit these males when referencing their colonies.) My dad was enthusiastic about the idea – but believed I was completely insane, and he tried many times to reiterate the point that honeybees sting. Other family members were intrigued.
The only person completely opposed to the idea of honeybees was my mother in law, who (still) is convinced that my husband is going to be murdered by bees. It turns out that despite all the talk about dog allergies my husband omitted the fact that he has had some pretty dramatic swelling occur after bee stings. Saddened that he hadn’t mentioned this before ordering my new pets, I convinced him to go to the allergist for a test. (It turns out despite all his talk of allergies, he has never really been diagnosed by an expert for any of them.)
A couple weeks later my husband returned from the allergist with his arms covered in bumps from a scratch test. I asked which one was honeybees and he handed me a sheet. Everything on the sheet had an “x” for “positive skin test result” marked, except… dogs. It turns out that our bees vs dogs agreement was made on false pretenses! I also noticed that honeybees were not on the list at all. He explained that the wasp/hornet/bee test is administered by injecting poison through needles rather than the normal scratch test (ouch). It is apparently very painful, and not recommended unless a severe reaction with the blood sample occurs, or you’re into masochism. In addition the allergist asked my husband if he’d ever had swelling anywhere outside of the sting site, or a shortness of breath. He hadn’t and the allergist concluded that he was not allergic and had experienced “severe local reactions” that are not fatal in any way. My next thought? Hooray! Bees AND dogs!
Excerpt from my husband’s actual skin test. Yes he’s allergic to everything… except apparently bees and dogs.
