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An old time beekeeper told me a story that happened when he was a kid. His grandfather kept the old time black bees. They were moving some hives in a mule drawn wagon on a dirt road, to an apple orchard, and one of the beehives fell over and the bees came out, and started stinging everything, and stung the mules, who started running, and all the hives fell over and all the bees came out and started stinging!

The boy ran home and the bees followed him home, and stung the window screens and the door, and stayed there for hours!

That was some mean bees!

My Italians will only follow me for maybe 15 - 20 feet when they get mad.

My last bee sting was hunting pheasant on an unusually warm sunny day in November, that must have woke them up.

I was walking along and all of the sudden I had bees all over me, in my shirt, and in my pants! I think they were jellowjackets that came out of the ground.

(I am a female) and was hunting with my boyfriend. I started running and shouting "BEES!", but my boyfriend couldn't tell what I said. All he saw was me run and throw down my shotgun and begin taking off my clothes in the middle of the field. He thought I had gone quite mad!

I was stung many (6-8? don't remember) times in the armpits, legs and neck. I could tell my throat was closing up, and I said we needed to get back to the truck and get some Benedryl in me right away. Luckily I had some in the glove box and couldn't really even remember why, just that it was there. He ran up ahead and brought it back. I still felt pretty drunk by the time we got back to the truck, quite light-headed. The stings swelled up into big welts, but I didn't go to the doctor. I do fear the exposure though, because it is my understanding that allergic reactions can be brought on by an exposure like that and are cumulative. I fear what the reaction might be next time. I have a friend who is allergic enough that he carries a sting kit with him always or he could die. I am not likely that allergic, but I wouldn't want to be. I spend too much time in the outdoors, far from home when riding... I don't want to be taken out by a bug!