My dad and one of my uncles kept bees and never had a problem getting stung...they alway told me bees could sense fear and if you stayed calm they would not sting you and I have found this to be true. When I was growing up we always went barefoot in summer and the only time I was stung was when I happened to step on a bee.

As for Arkansas, it`s the fire ants that put the fear of God in me...they caused me to make a bee-line back to Missouri twice..

BTW you can get rid of any ant hill by pouring grits on the hill.