[LAlldredge]

Got a sting from cleaning their bee water plate and sponges at my kitchen sink. No bee in sight, but I know what a sting feels like. This has happened before when I was cleaning out my quiet box. No bee, but yet venom and sting anyway. Love to hear a more experienced person shed light on that.

The good news is- I'm well on my way to developing resistance. Stings are very localized and I don't swell much anymore.

 

[Nelsonhoneyfarms]

A similar thing has happened to me before when handling used woodenware with lots of propolis. I think stingers stuck in the propolis from where dead bees had previously been were the culprit in my case.

 

[GregV]

It takes a fraction of a second for a bee to stick you and fly/drop away, living the stinger behind.
Don't just assume you will always see a bee stuck with it rear end in you.
Entirely possible you grabbed a bee, got stung, and promptly washed the dropped off bee into your kitchen sink (without seeing it).

 

[niki.nicole]

Something similar is happening to me right now. I went down to leave something down by the hives and saw a bee on me without a stinger. I'm a wimp and would have felt a sting so I think it just stung my clothes but didn't go through. Later I felt something scratch my side and have 3 small sting spots. I think the barb is in my shirt and when my arm puts pressure on it just right, it stings/scratches enough to cause a reaction. I'm pretty sensitive to them and usually swell a ton. I've noticed this happen with my gloves in the past. The stinger gets stuck in my leather glove and causes a mild reaction just by slightly scratching my skin. I don't know if this is what is happening with you, but might help!

 

[BW56]

" I've noticed this happen with my gloves in the past. The stinger gets stuck in my leather glove and causes a mild reaction just by slightly scratching my skin. niki.nicole" Yep, me too. My bee buddies seem to go after the same spot on the gloves also.

 

[JConnolly]

That happened to me two weeks ago while harvesting honey. I was uncapping an extra fat frame from the outside edge of the box. I picked up two different stingers embedded in my fingers from different edges of the frame. No bees, I was inside in the kitchen. Both times I could see the stinger in my finger and scraped it out. One left a sore that got slightly infected and took longer to heal.