Do you worry about being stung while dealing with bees? Good thing that you can wear a bee suit that can protect you from that sharp burning pain. However, since you are reading this article, I bet that you are wondering if bees could sting you even if you are wearing a bee suit.
Bees are actually considered gentle and friendly creatures. They don’t attack without being provoked. But when they feel threatened, they will use their stinger to defend themselves and their colony. Wearing a bee suit will greatly lessen your chances of getting stung. However, it does not eliminate the risk. So in short, you can still get stung through a bee suit.
Nevertheless, it is better than handling bees without wearing any protective suits. Right?
Are Bee Suits Sting-Proof or Sting-Resistant?
The reason why you can still get stung while wearing a bee suit is that it is only sting-resistant, not sting-proof. Bees have their way of finding the smallest openings so always make sure to properly close your suit to prevent bees from coming in.
Also, sting-resistant suits still require you to wear adequate inner clothing. In this way, even if a bee was able to poke a hole through your suit, the chance of it reaching your skin would be minimal.
What Are Bee Suits Made From?
There are various types of bee suits – from full body suits to separate jackets, pants, gloves, hats, and veils. Commonly, they come in white color and are usually made from three different materials, such as cotton, nylon, and mesh.
Cotton
Using cotton allows bee suits to match the thickness that you need. In fact, some cotton suits can really be quite thick which makes it difficult for the stingers of bees to penetrate. In contrast, suits made from this material can be quite warm because of their thickness.
Nylon
Suits made from nylon aren’t the thickest that you may find but it is a synthetic durable material. Despite of its thin property, the probability of you getting stung by a bee will decrease because the bees will just end up sliding off when they try to land on you.
Mesh
Usually, many layers of mesh are used when creating bee suits because a single layer wouldn’t be enough to provide protection against bee stings. In addition, you can also create a thick suit using this material. But unlike cotton, the airflow can still be maximized because it can pass through tiny holes, making it the most breathable material for bee suits.
How Thick Is A Bee Suit?
The thickness of the bee suit actually depends on the manufacturer and the kind of materials used. For example, cotton combined with some layers of mesh would be thicker than nylon. And nylon alone wouldn’t be that thick.
The majority of bee suits made from cotton are 0.22 to 0.40 millimeters thick, which is just enough to give additional protection. But of course, aside from that, the outer layer of bee suits is made to be tough enough to make it difficult for stingers to penetrate physically.
Does The Color Of The Bee Suit Make Any Difference?
If you’ll notice, white is the color of most bee suits. Or if not, they are at least light colored. The main reason behind this is that bees see through color, and they find light colors less threatening. The color white is also termed as the color of no interest for bees.
Other reasons are that light colors do not become hot unlike dark clothing which makes it more comfortable to wear, and that white color suits will make it easier to see if you are accidentally carrying a bee on your suit while you are leaving the hive.
Should A Bee Suit Be Loose-Fitting Or Tight-Fitting?
For the sake of both comfort and protection, a loose-fitting suit with elastics at the ends to close around your wrists and ankles would be the best choice. Wearing a loose suit will allow you to make unrestricted movements that are needed in beekeeping. The elastics at the ends are the ones that needed to be fitted tightly in order to avoid creating openings in your suit.
A loose-fitting suit also creates more space between the suit and your skin, which reduces the chances of a stinger coming in contact with you. Lastly, it would be able to give you sufficient ventilation compared to a tight-fitting suit.
How Does A Bee Sting?
Did you know that the stinger is a modified egg-laying device? Therefore, only female bees have them but take note that they don’t sting unreasonably.
Bee’s stinging defense is composed of two barbed lancets and the venom sack. Once both lancets are firmly embedded through a sawing motion, a venom created by the lancets will be injected into the wound.
Sadly, the only way a bee could free itself is for it to tear the lancet out of its abdomen which will result in the unfortunate death of the bee.
What To Do When You’re Stung By A Bee
If you are wearing a protective bee suit but were still stung by a bee, never ever try to grab the stinger with your finger as it may squeeze the venom sack. If this happens, the pain and itchiness will just increase. Instead, try removing it using something other than your hand in a scraping motion.
Effects of bee stings usually don’t last long. But if you have an allergy to bees, immediately take an antihistamine. And the best action is to seek urgent medical attention.
Summary
Wearing a bee suit offers you good protection against bee stings. Don’t forget that a light-colored, loose-fitting suit is better as it does not threaten the bees and creates more space between the suit and your skin. However, since it is just sting-resistant and not sting-proof, it is still possible for the stinger to penetrate the suit.
Still, the best way not to get stung by a bee is to keep calm and avoid provoking these little insects.
