The culprit... the yellow belly
The tragic deaths of two young siblings stung by hornets in Sarawak, East Malaysia last week is truly saddening. They had no chance against a swarm of agitated and defensive hornets, the stings of which bring out an equally dramatic and overwhelming response by the human body. In their case, apparently one of them accidentally disturbed the hornets' nest.
I recall a painful encounter with these hornets in a public park where I did my walking exercise a few years ago. I was walking with my husband and some other avid walkers along the tracks and around the park were leafy trees some of which were flowering giving off sweet fragrance.
As I was feeling quite energetic, I broke off from the group and walked ahead by myself. Suddenly I felt a stinging sensation on my head, then there were whirring sounds like flies hovering over me and more painful, sharp stings landed on my face. In a split second, I was running and fending off, you guess, the hornets and they were chasing me. I ran and shouted and in my fright, I could still think that I should not run towards the group otherwise the hornets would also sting them. So I ran forward with my husband running after me and there I was shouting at the top of my lungs with my spectacles flung out and looking for a pool of water near the War Memorial. I was ready to jump in when I saw that there was no water in the pool! Of all days. I then ran to the open space away from the trees in a circle and I guessed the bees got tired of me and flew away.
Now why was I attacked? Why only me? I did not disturb any hornets' nest, I was minding my own business and hornets were the last thing on my mind. The other walkers were not affected at all though they were only a few steps behind me.
The pain was indescribable, kind of sharp and hot and soon enough, my face was swollen like an overweight pumpkin. And I was thinking before long my throat would swell and I would not be able to breathe. This is how bee sting victims die. There were nine bites on me and some friends said jokingly that I was lucky as those bites would have killed a buffalo.
You know why the hornets chose me that day? Yes, they chose me because they thought I was a source of honey... because I washed my hair the night before using honey shampoo. If you are going to walk outdoors with lots of trees, do not use honey shampoo to wash your hair. If you do not believe and want to experiment, do use a protective gear.
The tragic deaths of two young siblings stung by hornets in Sarawak, East Malaysia last week is truly saddening. They had no chance against a swarm of agitated and defensive hornets, the stings of which bring out an equally dramatic and overwhelming response by the human body. In their case, apparently one of them accidentally disturbed the hornets' nest.
I recall a painful encounter with these hornets in a public park where I did my walking exercise a few years ago. I was walking with my husband and some other avid walkers along the tracks and around the park were leafy trees some of which were flowering giving off sweet fragrance.
As I was feeling quite energetic, I broke off from the group and walked ahead by myself. Suddenly I felt a stinging sensation on my head, then there were whirring sounds like flies hovering over me and more painful, sharp stings landed on my face. In a split second, I was running and fending off, you guess, the hornets and they were chasing me. I ran and shouted and in my fright, I could still think that I should not run towards the group otherwise the hornets would also sting them. So I ran forward with my husband running after me and there I was shouting at the top of my lungs with my spectacles flung out and looking for a pool of water near the War Memorial. I was ready to jump in when I saw that there was no water in the pool! Of all days. I then ran to the open space away from the trees in a circle and I guessed the bees got tired of me and flew away.
Now why was I attacked? Why only me? I did not disturb any hornets' nest, I was minding my own business and hornets were the last thing on my mind. The other walkers were not affected at all though they were only a few steps behind me.
The pain was indescribable, kind of sharp and hot and soon enough, my face was swollen like an overweight pumpkin. And I was thinking before long my throat would swell and I would not be able to breathe. This is how bee sting victims die. There were nine bites on me and some friends said jokingly that I was lucky as those bites would have killed a buffalo.
You know why the hornets chose me that day? Yes, they chose me because they thought I was a source of honey... because I washed my hair the night before using honey shampoo. If you are going to walk outdoors with lots of trees, do not use honey shampoo to wash your hair. If you do not believe and want to experiment, do use a protective gear.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment