LYSON beekeeping suit with double lining

01 · IF YOU HAVE A DIAGNOSED ALLERGY

This is clothing, not treatment

It is worth saying first: a suit is protective equipment, not a medical device, and it replaces nothing your doctor has told you. Anyone with a diagnosed bee venom allergy follows their allergist's instructions — including the prescribed rescue medication and, where it has been indicated, venom immunotherapy.

And two habits that cost nothing: do not work alone in the apiary, and tell whoever is with you what to do and where you keep your medication. That is the real margin of safety; the suit is what reduces the odds of ever needing it.

02 · THE TWO LAYERS

Where the difference from an ordinary suit lies

The fabric is two layers: an inner one of 65% polyester and 35% cotton, which breathes and sits against the body, and an outer one of 100% polyester. The thickness they add up to is what keeps the tip of the sting off the skin, above all on the back, chest and arms, where a suit presses against the body as you bend.

It is not a ventilated mesh suit: it is a closed suit in two fabrics, so it is warmer. Its ground is the visit where you expect the colony to be edgy.

03 · WHERE A BEE GETS IN

Neck, wrists, ankles and the zip

The veil is a round hat type: a double ring holds the mesh away from the face, and the back is fabric, not mesh. It detaches from the suit so you can wash it separately. And the veil's zip is covered by a velcro flap: the neck is the classic way in, and there it closes completely.

Wrists and ankles finish in elasticated cuffs, and the trousers carry foot straps so they do not ride up when you bend or lift a super. The front pockets zip shut, so they do not act as funnels.

And design isn't everything: a half-closed zip, an ankle left bare when you crouch, a tear in the fabric or a seam coming apart will let a bee in, however good the suit. Check it before every inspection, all the more so if you are allergic.

04 · WHAT IT DOES NOT COME WITH

Hands and feet go separately

The suit covers you from ankle to head, but neither gloves nor boots are included — and those are precisely the two places where most stings land. With a diagnosed allergy, that pair of purchases is not optional.

And smoke is still half the job: a better suit does not make up for a smoker that has gone out.

05 · SIZING

Choose by height and chest, measured in your work clothes

LYSON's chart gives body measurements, not garment ones. Measure your chest in the clothes you wear at the apiary and find your row by height and by chest.

If the two measurements point to different sizes, go for the larger one: the suit should not fit tight, because the sting gets through where the fabric rests on the skin. And check that sleeves and legs overlap your gloves and boots.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is the most protective closed suit in the catalogue, with what that implies: