What You Should Know About Bee Venom/ Bee Stings
Hello fellow beekeepers in Kenya and other African Nations. I need to address a few issues regarding the africanised bees.
Some considerations before getting started with your beekeeping or as you practice bee farming:
Bee stings are a concern of all beekeepers. Although they can be minimised by protective clothing and good work habits such as using a well lit smoker which pups good amount of smoke, an occasional sting is inevitable. Accepting this is part of the mental attitude which characterizes progressive beekeepers. Most people from rural settings who work with bees are more accepting of the idea that they will get stung than the development worker who comes from a ' bug - free ' urban environment.
Avoid perfumes and scented lotions when nearing or rather working with bees. Strong scents from the tractors exhaust attracts bees and incite them to sting. This not only case, it happened a couple of years ago, unfortunately I was unable to arrive at time. The old man from a village in Makueni was stinged to death, I managed to untie the livestock tethered around, then did the subsequent bees brigade at night. Where a huge citrus tree farms which had branches overlapping in the farm being ploughed, is the place where this painful incident happened.
The tractor drivers, as well as power saw operators are hereby adviced to reck the trees cover in and be on the look out of feral bee nests. Slow, careful, deliberate movements when working with the colonies are also important tactics a bee keeper need to embrace as well as minimising bee stings. Bees are attracted to quick movements. Working carefully when manupilating the hive also minimises the risk of mashed bees. Mashed bees release alarm pheromone or odours which alerts and incites other workers to defend the colony. Using smoker properly helps mask the alarm pheromone. If a colony becomes out of control while working on it, close it up as quickly as possible and move away. Also bees experiences are done in pairs, plus adorning different types of beesuits veils.
In 2022 in Makueni County, my friend and I, surveyed an apiary before putting on protective gears. Having arrived at dusk, I noticed a plant, the family of sisal, with arrow head, having located it I didn't know it will be of use in the next couple of hours, until my veil became porous and bees flowed in, I had an experience of not to panic while close to hives colonized with super active bee colonies, at which point a single bee entered my right ear with its head first, I asked my colleague to escort me to the 50 metres where I had seen the arrow headed sisal species plant , used my hive tool to pluck a branch, imagine I had weared the all round netted diameter veil, which enabled my pair to pass the sindano branch after spotting the bee abdomen. He gently pierched it and pulled it back to drop inside my sleeves. If that day I was in the front faced veil, I would have been forced to move apart and pull over my veil. So, have all kinds of beesuits, I.e, 3 layers ventilated, cotton, nylon, polyester or silk fabric. All bee suits have their unique advantages and could be used in different situations.
The same year, one Proffessor Helmut Horn from Germany came to pay a visit in Kikumbulyu South Kibwezi East, at the home of Mr & Mrs Mwangangi, while working with Native Beecare by then, he insisted that we inspect an apiary. The group had a good number of about 20 participants mostly small-holder bee farmers who expected support from the Germany Non Government organisation. In a broad daylight at exactly 12 noon closer to a busy road, remember I had earlier suggested not use this apiary for our studies at this point, until dusk. The mzungu insisted that he has worked with the bees for an upward of +40 years, the then director, just to appease the donors effort, told me to allow the exercise to continue, no sooner had we opened our first hive than the bees got out of control, to make matters worse, professor was not on gloves, stings, stings × 10 on his hands, he put both hands inside his pockets, Without wasting time or after thought, I closed the hive, nobody was at the vicinity only me, women, neighbourhoods were on top flight, several bicycles abandoned by the road ways. I was trying to reach every one struggling for safety, not knowing to begin with Madam boss, or the techno- crat, who later agreed with me that African Honeybees are killer bees. The next days trainings were then done inside an hotel residence, where more than 700k was paid as accommodation. More annoying was that it was western oriented, which most beginners aren't used to. If bees ever give chase, create a smoke cloud with the smoker and move away through bushes and branches. Moving through these objects confuses the bees. When a bee gets inside the veil or inside clothing, the best remedy is to mash it as quickly as possible before it can sting. Trying to release it usually leads to getting stung anyway. Bees sometimes sting through clothing, especially where it pulled tightly around the shoulders. Such a sting rarely has the full effect, and is called a false sting.
Local tenderness and swelling is a normal reaction after a bee sting. Swelling may be rather severe if the person has not been stung for a while. Swelling usually becomes less severe as the beekeeper's body develops an immunity to bee venom, though the initial pin - point pain of a sting will always be felt. This type of reaction, no matter how severe the swelling, is a local allergic reaction. A more severe allergic response to a bee sting is a systematic reaction. This is a total body response ( anaphylactic shock ), with symptoms occuring far away from the sting site. Symptoms of a systematic reaction may include:- hives;, swelling of lips, tongue, or eyelids, tightness in the chest with difficulty breathing or swallowing/ suffocation which causes death, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, weakness or confusion, probably death. If you ever experience the above symptoms immediately after bee sting call for medical attention. Bee stings are treated with antihistamines or adrenaline found on the counter especially administered in most chemist's. To those Individuals who are hypersensitivity to bee stings should not try to become beekeepers. Reaction to a sting will also vary depending on the age of the bee ( development of sting glands ), and the physiological condition of the beekeeper, whose body chemistry can be affected by drugs used ( especially antihistamines) or by different emotional states.
As the venom is already into the skin, there is no cure for a bee sting. Lotions, ice packs, and other things may be used to soothe the afflicted area, but the only cure is time. There are many folk remedies to soothe the effects of bee sting. Whatever is used, the swelling will disappear in a day or so, and then there may be a brief period of intense itching at the site.
Someone commented that a single incident can deter new entrants, " true " but research indicated in a workshop proceedings in Arusha International conference centre on the 19th - 21st May 1997, highlighted as an Ecological factors that the defensive behaviour is an important trait to consider in beekeeping programmes because beekeepers are naturally enemies of honeybees colonies in Africa. Whereby, many people would like to keep bees but the pronounced defensive behaviour of the African races of honeybees keeps away people with little training in beekeeping.
Moreso, in training and extension:-
Most of beekeeping experts have been trained using materials developed in temperate countries. Adding to this, very little has been documented on various aspects of bees and beekeeping in Africa and dealing with the defensive Africanised bee.
The scanty available literature is not readable by the various tribes in the rural areas. Thus most of the extension workers are not well equipped with extension materials, leave alone the frustrating infrastructure and socio-economic conditions.
In many areas, extension services have not been adequately effective, in some cases there have been conflicting messages. In 2022 to 2025, I invited and trained numerous ministry of Livestock department officers in Machakos, Kitui, Tharaka, Taita Taveta and Makueni, at Native Beecare Ltd model farms where I realised huge gaps in lack of information, collections and exchange.
Continued developments in beekeeping cannot succeed without research, promotion, education training and effective extension services, which this noble course is geared towards. Though it should not be absolutely for free, these are essential for integrating beekeeping with agriculture and reforestation efforts. This article, desires and strives to deliberate on such and related issues and come out with vivid recommendations to modern beekeeping and understanding to help the upcoming bee keepers to become better and run sustainable bee farming projects in Kenya and Africa in whole.
Lasts, How does the future bee farming development potential entails;-
1. Quality awareness education of the beekeepers,
2. Diversification of the production.
3. Better marketing and distribution channels.
4. Cooperation between the beekeepers is also very essential for such a development in the future.
With a better national income and more space for private consumption we can also expect to see a trend of improved local markets for beekeeping accessories and products. The international market for honey is kind of very stagnant due to the protectionism of Europe and the USA. But the beeswax and other non honey products market is developing very fast and the market prices are increasing steadily. The African beeswax is beginning to receive a very good price due to its cleanliness and lack of contamination with chemical acaricides, pesticides and fungicides. It is even possible that we will see rapid price increase s of bee products in the near future if the development described here is something to bank on.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF BEEKEEPING IN KENYA AND AFRICA LOOK LIKE?
From how the industry is looking in 2025, we can expect that in the near future the demand and prices for both honey and beeswax which are the primary products will go up. Since there is a great potential for increased number of bee hives and better production methods (technology) leading to a better productivity, we expect that many beekeepers will be able to make a better living from beekeeping, manufacturing of bee input supplies and value addition of bee products in the future would create many direct and indirect employment opportunities. Many new beekeepers will also be able to start business in the beekeeping sector.
In any beekeeping development project, the transfer of knowledge, or teaching people how to use the equipment, is the most difficult aspect. It is slow, on - going process, patience and a sense of humor are important assets. For further consultation from experts from Native Beecare of course at a fee is highly welcomed.
HAPPY BEE KEEPING TO ALL OUR BEE FARMERS AS YOU PREPARE TO ATTEND THE INTERNATIONAL BEE DAY IN TURKANA COUNTY 2025 EDITION.