Modern Vespa

and other stingy flying critters.

Just now 3rd sting this month Yes 7 days.
The 1st was blown up my short Second on the arm so not particularly bothersome.
Today's, under my sunglasses

Nothing to be done about it. All you can do is not panic. Or try to; this one reason I do not wear full face.

Rant over

When Im out cycling I carry anti histamine tablets in my back pack. I have been stung three times on the bike, two down my cycling top and once on the neck.

I guess its our fault, these bees and wasps are doing their own thing and suddenly we whack out of the air!

Im with you on full face helmets, whilst touring in France a wasp/ bee went under the chin piece and stung me on the cheek.

This one, 'RoboWasp', weighed about a pound, but proved quite docile in spite of it's intimidating appearance.

We carry an After-Bite stick in each of our scooters - very effective on wasp and bee stings.

e.g. https://www.cvs.com/shop/after-bite-advanced-formula-prodid-645837

So far I had 2 incidents with bees/wasps.

The first was a wasp hitting the visor of my helmet and I saw it crawling on the inner surface of the visor. Not comforting.
I flipped the visor up, stopped at the side of the road and carefully took my helmet of. Luckily for me the wasp was a bit numb from the blow. It soon recovered and flew away. No harm done.

The second was a bee that got into my left sleeve and stung me a bit behind the wrist. Stopped at the side of the road, took of my glove and pushed my sleeve up. Then I saw it was a bee. Too bad for the bee. They can only sting once.

Except for Bumblebees, those guys can stab you until they run out of pain juice, then fly away laughing.

Lóng since lost count of the stings while riding.
As I wrote 3 in this July
Always wasps with a beetle as exception.
Flying ants are surprisingly bothersome. When they swarm they are suddeny éverywhere and when they collide, crawl ín your gear, helmet
If you get one in your collar or helmet you want, nééd to stop asap and evict the critter.
But... wasps and their stings 'win'.
Luckily only a few top months though.

Aren't you supposed to pee on it or get someone to? Or am I confusing this with jelly fish stings.....

Pretty much mirrors my experience a few years back...I have a penchant for flipping up my FF visor around town, and at the point of lowering it as I sped up I noted a yellow jacket crawling around the inside edge. Figured as long as he didn't feel a threat, I'm good, though it does sharpen the senses observing a wasp trapped mere inches from your face.

I carefully opened the visor again, and not exactly patient for the drama to end, decided to just pull over and take my beating, if necessary. I'd lost visual contact with my little friend, but expected to hear from him if he was going to get pinched between me and the helmet.

When I tore off the helmet, nothing. Hey must have made his escape unseen.

I'll still flip up the visor in hot weather, but less often than previously.

By coincidence I was stung by a wasp in the left hand about 10 days ago. Not while riding.

Me getting stung is an event because I am allergic. One sting is not going to kill me but 20 might and 50 stings probably would without medical intervention.

I have a generic epipen in my medicine cabinet just in case.

This sting was fairly light but enough for me to miss two days of work because I couldn't use my left hand without considerable pain.

After it happened when my hand was swelling up I realized that I could no longer remove my watch. I had to remove a pin and wear it on my right hand for a few days.

I still have a little pain from it.

Not sure that is very practical while scooting

fledermaus with an open faced helmet, better still puddin' base, the chance of the wasp getting claustrophobic is greatly reduced and that makes me less claustrophobic.
As I observed applies to flying ants too. I find it VÉRY hard to keep calm with a critter on the loose in a full faced.
Again a risk analysis and decision.
Not riding fast bikes anymore and also have considerably calmed down plus retired = free to choose when/where to ride. So nowadays both opting for reducing the chances on a mishap ánd the potential seriousness of consequences.

Used to react quite badly to insect stings/bites but it has improved over the years. Yesterday morning's sting have very few effect yesterday. In the evening though it started swelling up and now is
Looks

Easy solution below get the best breathable option and saves possible accident, gives you time to stop safely.

Balaclava and arm protection

https://tinyurl.com/2m8svct8

Ha, been there.

Had something crawling around in my helmet the other day, don't know what it was because it was gone by the time I got the helmet off. Nothing worse than a sting on the face.

I had a dragonfly divebomb the bridge of my nose at 60mph once. No bit or sting but the sheer mass of the thing hurt like hell, and left a nice welt for a day or so. Was kinda gross cleaning up bug parts from my face and inside my helmet.

Husband and I took the kids (as passengers) from south of San Jose up to Port Orford OR and back at the start of June. (10 days, 4 people, about 1500miles, a GTS, an Xmax, and a Lot Of fun).

I got a bee sucked inside my helmet every day for the first 5 days. Never got stung, but I got REALLY good at pulling over fast, popping open my modular helmet, and swiping it out.

A year prior, I pulled my helmet out of my topbox, put it on, felt a tickle, went to swipe what I thought was just a stray hair out of the way, and got stung. I'm not allergic, but my finger swelled up enough I couldn't put my glove on. Luckily it was my left hand, so I could ride home the 3 blocks one handed...

Upon reflection, it may be time for a new helmet. This one appears to be attracting all the bees...

From experience, bumblebees are highly reluctant to sting: I've actually had them fly into the house and escorted them by hand back outside, without incident. They're probably the only armed insect I haven't suffered a sting from.

Now, Yellowjackets…they'll sting you if you look at 'em the wrong way. Repeatedly.

My worst bug experience was not of the stinging variety but a large 25mm+ (1") Cockroach strolled across the inside of my FF visor. I was in peak hour traffic, mid arch on our main harbour bridge crossing.
Nothing to do but ride to work with a 'friend' in the lid lining.
Straight to the woodshop and blew the fucker out with an air gun.
I'm getting the shivers just reliving this.

I've been stung in the balls by a wasp and in the forehead by a bee.

Wasps are like the Skinheads of the insect world.

Good times.

Baggy trousers?

?si=N6c_nQQnXYamfYGM

Combats.

It landed between the seat and my pants and couldn't get out.

Indeed, they are.

But once I was stung by a bumblebee. For some reason there was one in my garden shoe and when I put my foot in I got stung.

Wasps = assholes with wings.

Had my share of wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bees, etc. usually up the sleeve, inside the shirt, and so on. Also had top of my lf hand cut open by a dragon fly. I was going over 95, so there's that. Remains of the dragon fly in my lap.

Winged Assholes Stinging People Scootering

I managed to get stung in the eyelid of all places, by a bumblebee, of all things, when I was four. I likely freaked out and made the poor thing sting me. Kept my distance for a while until I figured things out.

I have a scale of wasp aggression that has the paper comb nest under the eaves was on one end, yellow jackets a ways down the scale and bald- faced hornets with their baskeball-sized gray paper nests as complete assholes.

Killed 3 earlier today