Subject: stings/lavender oil

From: Alan Craig <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 04 Jun 1996 12:04:52 +0100

I got a couple of stings on Saturday; they usually
come up in quite a large hard bump and are uncomfortable
for a week or so.  The person I was with suggested
putting lavender oil on the site of the sting,
and this seems to have controlled it completely.
Was this just chance, or has anyone else had this
experience?

Alan

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From: [email-masked](Pat )
Date: 4 Jun 1996 14:28:54 GMT

I am not a scientist, but have always been fascinated with the "good"
insects such as bees. My question for you experts is based on my
personal observation that there don't seem to be as many bees as I
remember seeing in years past.

Has something happened to the bee population?

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From: [email-masked] (Frank Warner)
Date: Tue, 04 Jun 1996 19:58:03 GMT

>Has something happened to the bee population?

Apparently the mites have had some ill effect on feral honey bees.

Frank

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From: "Theodore V. Fischer" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 10:42:24 -0400

> Apparently the mites have had some ill effect on feral honey bees.

This is quite an understatement!  In most of the country, varroa mites have completely 
wiped out all traces of the wild (feral) honeybee colonies.  In addition, they have 
devastated apiaries of many beekeepers, who have sustained losses in the 50-90% (or 
more) range this last autumn and winter.

Ted Fischer