Death By Bee Sting

[Sardondi]

Holy crap: A rock climber was killed after disturbing what was apparently a huge bee hive nestled behind some rocks which he struck with a hammer or drove a piton into. He died of "mass envenomation", as did his dog. It was found on the rock plateau above (I don't know how he managed that, but I guess he somehow set up a little camp above and then went back down to climb.) http://www.newser.com/story/167707/missing-climber-killed-by-venom.html

He was found hanging in mid air. Good Lord. Imagine a couple of good strikes with the hammer, and then an odd noise...and BEES!! And no way down or up before what I suppose would have been massive swelling, choking, heart fibrillation leading to heart attack and/or strangulation. Can you imagine what hell his last minutes must have been?

[ItsOver]

Kind of makes you just want to stay home and listen to Noory.  Errr, I mean't "just stay home."     Speaking of "the gifted reporter," I wonder how Noory will screw-up reporting that sad tale.  It sounds horrific enough to be just up his alley for tomorrow night's show. 

[HorrorRetro]

This is truly a nightmare scenario. 

[West of the Rockies]

Makes me think of that scene in The Hunger Games where the trackerjack hive is dropped on a female tribute.  My daughter and I were out hiking last summer when she accidentally kicked a ground hive of hornets or something.  Got in her hair, in my clothing -- we suffered each about half a dozen stings at least.  We're both pretty jumpy now around stinging critters.

[Sardondi]

Makes me think of that scene in The Hunger Games where the trackerjack hive is dropped on a female tribute.  My daughter and I were out hiking last summer when she accidentally kicked a ground hive of hornets or something.  Got in her hair, in my clothing -- we suffered each about half a dozen stings at least.  We're both pretty jumpy now around stinging critters.

Stung by hornets? I've never known anyone who had those monsters get after them. Yellow jackets burrow in the ground and are terribly aggressive when disturbed, often stinging poor souls cutting grass dozens of time or even more. But a hornet is about 5 times a yellow jacket's size. How did you guys make out?

[Pragmier]

Just a few is enough to sour your day. Couple weeks ago I came home and heard a buzzing sound coming from the back sliding glass doors. Somehow, about a half-dozen bees had gotten in. After killing them with bug spray, I returned an hour later to find a similar number inside again! WTF?? Killed those, and looked outside to see where they were coming from but couldn't find the hive. Checked for holes, nada. They didn't return but never did find out their origin.

[West of the Rockies]

Stung by hornets? I've never known anyone who had those monsters get after them. Yellow jackets burrow in the ground and are terribly aggressive when disturbed, often stinging poor souls cutting grass dozens of time or even more. But a hornet is about 5 times a yellow jacket's size. How did you guys make out?

Ah, I stand corrected -- I am no entomologist obviously.  Yes, they were yellow jackets that got us.  Nasty buggers....

[Sardondi]

Ah, I stand corrected -- I am no entomologist obviously.  Yes, they were yellow jackets that got us.  Nasty buggers....

They are indeed nasty, and incredibly aggressive. A few people every year die from yellow jacket attacks.

[Eddie Coyle]

 
           One of the most foolish/insane/ballsy things I ever witnessed was a co-worker of mine when I worked for the Parks Department as a kid. The top floor of our HQ/depot had a bee infestation. It turned out that basketball sized hive was in the far corner of a garage for the garbage trucks. This absolutely batshit welder took the initivative, and grabbed a cherry picker went up about 30 feet and took to hive with a blowtorch. His only protection was his mask and quasi-boiler suit. We were watching from 100-200 feet away as he blasted the hive which appeared to disintegrate after about 30 seconds of blasting...it looked like a swarm emerged as the hive fell, but none of the bees came our way which amazed me. The welder had a few stings, but nothing major.

         It worked...but I'd never advise it.

[onan]

Stung by hornets?

Hell yeah hornets sting. And many species give off a pheromone that attracts and angers other hornets. And if you are a kid... don't shoot one of their nests with a bb gun from what you think is a safe distance... yeah... memories.

[Eddie Coyle]

Hell yeah hornets sting. And many species give off a pheromone that attracts and angers other hornets. And if you are a kid... don't shoot one of their nests with a bb gun from what you think is a safe distance... yeah... memories.

The only hornet sting I ever got was brutal. I was playing first base, our dickhead shortstop overthrew me and I was retrieving the errant throw from under a bench I put my left hand down to pick up the ball...and it was like a burning spear went into my index finger. 10 minutes of agony.

           I reacted the way most hotheaded 12 year olds do...I yelled "motherfucker" about 20 times, ran in a circle and blamed the shortstop, promising to kill him later.

[West of the Rockies]

Funny story, Eddie!  One of the miserable things that stung me got stuck in my sock and I drove home with it in there (about a 20 minute ride from where my daughter and I had been hiking).  It was not until I was home and took off the sock that I realized I still had the damn thing in there doin' its thing -- I thought the pain was just from the original sting, not a live insect that was intent on inflicting as much pain as possible.

[Sardondi]

Hell yeah hornets sting. And many species give off a pheromone that attracts and angers other hornets. And if you are a kid... don't shoot one of their nests with a bb gun from what you think is a safe distance... yeah... memories.

Oh, absolutely they sting. My point was their stings are so dangerous as to be life threatening and I was asking whether WOTR (technically I should say "West Of The Rockies" since there is already a WOTR) got stung. And yes, you smash one of them, or they commit seppuku on you, the pothers are drawn to you.

Did you get a hornet sting as a youngster, onan? Those suckers are so monstrous they scare the pee out of me.

....I reacted the way most hotheaded 12 year olds do...I yelled "motherfucker" about 20 times, ran in a circle and blamed the shortstop, promising to kill him later.

That is the World Health Organization's approved treatment isn't it? I remember the bit about making a paste of wet tobacco, but that's probably about as effective as cutting an "x" over a snake bite and "sucking the poison out". Today I just make a paste of meat tenderizer, which I think is fairly effective.

[onan]

Oh, absolutely they sting. My point was their stings are so dangerous as to be life threatening and I was asking whether WOTR (technically I should say "West Of The Rockies" since there is already a WOTR) got stung. And yes, you smash one of them, or they commit seppuku on you, the pothers are drawn to you.

Did you get a hornet sting as a youngster, onan? Those suckers are so monstrous they scare the pee out of me.

That is the World Health Organization's approved treatment isn't it? I remember the bit about making a paste of wet tobacco, but that's probably about as effective as cutting an "x" over a snake bite and "sucking the poison out". Today I just make a paste of meat tenderizer, which I think is fairly effective.

Yeah, two friends and I were playig with our bb guns and Brian calls out "hey watch this!" before I knew it we were all being swarmed. I got stung on my back right calf... through blue jeans. Luckily we didn't get stung more... but it was painful.

[stevesh]

Spent a couple of years after I got out of the service working for my Uncle Bob, the commercial beekeeper. Honeybee venom isn't as powerful as most wasp/hornet venom, and a honeybee can only sting you once (essentially kamikaze missions). After the first hundred or so stings each season, you don't even notice them.

[Sardondi]

Spent a couple of years after I got out of the service working for my Uncle Bob, the commercial beekeeper. Honeybee venom isn't as powerful as most wasp/hornet venom, and a honeybee can only sting you once (essentially kamikaze missions). After the first hundred or so stings each season, you don't even notice them.

Wait, I thought wasps and hornets died after stinging. They don't?! Oh crap.

And about honeybee stings, I've heard that some arthritis patients actually want to get stung by them as therapy. It seems to help, particularly with their hands.

[stevesh]

And about honeybee stings, I've heard that some arthritis patients actually want to get stung by them as therapy. It seems to help, particularly with their hands.

I've heard that too, and multiple bee sting therapy might also be the only reasonable explanation for Lisa Rinna's lips.

[Sardondi]

I've heard that too, and multiple bee sting therapy might also be the only reasonable explanation for Lisa Rinna's lips.

You win a lol.

[ItsOver]

I've heard that too, and multiple bee sting therapy might also be the only reasonable explanation for Lisa Rinna's lips.

She was really good in her appearance in "The X-Files." 

[ziznak]

was just reading through this thread looking for the term "anaphylactic shock" because I couldn't remember how to spell it.  Every few years I would come across some sort of HUGE hornet looking thing in my backyard.  Apparently it was some sort of japanese hornet... I dispatched them easily with some help from my handy dandy hose but they scare the living shit out of me.

[ItsOver]

was just reading through this thread looking for the term "anaphylactic shock" because I couldn't remember how to spell it.  Every few years I would come across some sort of HUGE hornet looking thing in my backyard.  Apparently it was some sort of japanese hornet... I dispatched them easily with some help from my handy dandy hose but they scare the living shit out of me.

Looks like something from a "Mothra" movie. 

[Sardondi]

My only question is, why is that thing not under 500 pounds of concrete blocks, squashed into a 1mm thin slab of dessicated ex-stinging thing. Then name it "hornet jerky" and sell it or $50 an insect to Asian markets. Cripes! Why would anyone put a live thing like that on them!?