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ArnoldLayne;458695 wrote: Its the middle of November and I got stung by a bee in my bed last night. I now have a finger the size of a sausage. -2


Are you sure it wasn't a queen wasp, or (just vaguely possible!) a hornet? It's

the time of the year for all the bees to be tucked up in their hives, you see, so

if it was a bee, it would be surprising. There could be drones (male bees) about,

but they have no sting. Perhaps you could post a small photo. of the creature,

as long as it isn't flattened beyond all recognition? The swelling should subside

within a day.

ArnoldLayne;458695 wrote: Its the middle of November and I got stung by a bee in my bed last night. I now have a finger the size of a sausage. I had to shake it out of my bed at 4 this morning, where it flew into the ceiling lamp where I couldnt reach it. I had to listen to it drone for a second, stop, drone for a second, stop.......for a bloody hour. I need to hoover it out now

How bizzare.... or am I still in bed dreaming ? :-2


That was a lousy trick, Arnold...is it still droning?

I saw a very active Red Admiral outdoors yesterday. Not at all seasonally correct, that.

(I've not been observing Russian Fleet manoevres, I refer here to an English butterfly).

spot;458708 wrote: I saw a very active Red Admiral outdoors yesterday. Not at all seasonally correct, that.


Wonderful! One of my favourites! They come from North Africa, and Yurp. It's

the very end of their season (although some have been reported overwintering

in the S. of England).

Bill Sikes;458715 wrote: It's the very end of their season (although some have been reported overwintering in the S. of England).Given how long the Buddleia has been over I was surprised to see it around.

I have such a constant battle with that wretched bush that I'm tempted to take an axe to it.

spot;458725 wrote: Given how long the Buddleia has been over I was surprised to see it around.

I have such a constant battle with that wretched bush that I'm tempted to take an axe to it.


Prune anything that's outrageous about now. In mid-March, or thereabouts, you

can take the lot down to about 1'. They seed like mad, so there may well be new

plants springing up here and there right now.

ArnoldLayne;459938 wrote: While walking the dog I was met by a bumble bee. An unusual site at this time of year to say the least.

He was very polite though. He didnt stop to sting, just continued on his way. Bless him


Arn, you do realize that most likely the bee's you have been meeting lately are lady bees? The boyz are lazy and die off after the girls have their way with them.. Not such a bad life actually.

ArnoldLayne;460031 wrote: Oh thats typical. They wait till we drop off to sleep then make a get away.



Actually it felt like a lady sting


back in the summer i lifted some tiles on a roof to strip the tiles off and put my hand right in a wasp nest i got stung eight times i did not mind the pain too much or even the swelling though it made it hard to work my hand was twice the size as the other one but the itching for a week drove me mad :-3

ArnoldLayne;460031 wrote: Oh thats typical. They wait till we drop off to sleep then make a get away.

Actually it felt like a lady sting


Male bees (drones) have no stings, so they can't sting you! Females (workers)

have stings, usable once, result=death of bee. Queen bees (one per hive) have

stings, but won't use them unless "in extremis". Queens mate with several

drones (on the wing), on one mating flight, and store the sperm from then

for life, inside herself. The eggs that the queen lays may be unfertilised (sperm

witheld=drones), or fertilised (=workers or queen). The only thing that makes

the queen is the way that the larva is fed ("royal jelly"). If the queen in a hive

is destroyed, ordinary "worker larvae" are fed "royal jelly" and develop into

queens. This feeding must be done from a *very* early age (a day or so) or

it won't be effective. If it is impossible to raise a queen, then the ovaries of

workers develop, and the workers lay eggs - however, these can only turn

into drones, so the colony will die. In the UK, at this time of year (or rather

earlier), there is no use for drone bees, it being outside "the season", so

they are denied access on their return to the hive. This is why you see a few

stubby rather hairy bees with great big eyes (half the sixe of their head, each)

about at this time of year. They're dispossessed drones. A fewbees will fly even

in winter, if the day is warm and sunny - not many, though - they "cluster" inside

their hives, in a shape like a large ball, intersected by comb. The queen stays in

the very centre of the cluster all winter. For more info....