Bee stings for  the sick guinea pig

Hello,
I am a veterinarian and I am currently researching the possibility of using honeybees for the medical treatment of animals. Would it be possible to purchase individual bees from you for this purpose?

Best regards,
Veterinarian Rikke 

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Oliver Maxwell
Fri, Aug 14, 4:03 PM

Hi Rikke,

Thank you for your email and interest! It is both an exciting question and also a moral dilemma … even though many bees unintentionally perish as a consequence of our work, I don’t feel particularly comfortable selling live bees for a task where a painful death will be the result … How many bees are we talking about? And what time of year? I think perhaps the best solution would be for you to catch some bees yourself in a nearby flowerbed … and maybe pay for them by planting extra flowers for their surviving families as compensation.

Additionally, there is a question of when and how you want to use them. Here in the late summer and autumn, there are some ‘surplus’ bees while the bees get ready for winter. But these might be older bees that don’t want to sting, or don’t carry the potent venom you need. It is not a good idea to kill bees in the winter or spring, as all hands are needed in the beehive.

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear more about how it’s going, and what you are planning to use them for!

Best regards,
Oliver / Bybi

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Tue, Aug 18, 11:13 AM

Hello Oliver

A number of new studies have come out regarding the use of honeybee venom for treating cancer in pets. Veterinarian Joerg Mayer from the USA teaches and does quite a bit of research on this. I have 2 animals, a guinea pig and a rat with malignant cancer that cannot be surgically removed, and I think they would be good candidates for this type of therapy. I am fully aware of the ethical dilemma. I don’t quite know the number of bees yet; I just need to thoroughly check the treatment regimen. I don’t think it is possible to catch them myself. I am in the initial phase and trying to find someone who would be able to sell me the bees. Regarding planting flowers, I don’t have a garden but a balcony that has many different edible plants and flowers, so it has a rich insect life—though I haven’t seen bees, only bumblebees. Are there certain types of flowers that are better than others for the bees?
The time of year would depend on when there are patients that fit the category for treatment.

Thank you for replying quickly.

Best regards,
Veterinarian Rikke