Carpenter beetles / bees in Thailand: just keep your distance

I'm not certain if these are called "bees" globally, here in Thailand they are. I have heard them called beetles, well actually they are called Pung Mai Pai (sorta) in Thai.

I am writing about this today because during a beach birthday party yesterday, the daughter of one of my friends was messing around with some decorative bamboo torches (as a kid would do, I'm not faulting her for this) when she was stung by an unseen assassin. Screaming / crying ensued and the parents were at a loss as to what happened. I knew what it was straight away from several run-in's with these guys in the past.

The good news for the parents was that this thing is not deadly (unless someone has a severe allergy to insect bites, which thankfully, his daughter does not) but the bad news is that it really really hurts and you can expect pretty severe swelling over the course of many days.

While I am aware of the fact that they exist globally, I had never noticed them until I was subjected to being around bamboo on a daily basis. Especially dried bamboo used in decorative fences which are quite common in Thailand. I have been stung by these guys 3 times while I was mending a giant fence that we had on a property i was employed at. Each time it happened i become increasingly nervous about the fence and eventually started wearing work gloves (which is what i should have done from the start, I know.)

The good news about these creatures is that they are pretty docile, and unless you threaten their nest, they are incredibly unlikely to harm you. Only the females sting, and i have never heard about anyone being stung by them unless you happen to put your hand on the entrance to her home.

i wouldn't try this if i were you

The problem is that kids are naturally curious, and when they see a perfectly rounded hole in some bamboo, they are going to mess with it. There is only one reason why that hole would be in the bamboo, so if you find yourself somewhere warm with bamboo decorations nearby, check for hives and warn your kids. If you are an adult suppress your curiosity and for crap's sake keep your hands away from the holes.

The bees themselves look almost exactly like bumblebees, but they are far less aggressive.

If you do get stung, even though you will initially be in a lot of pain, it subsides pretty quickly. I have found (on my second sting) that if i was quick and removed the stinger and tried to get the poison out (by sucking on it) it reduced the recovery time by a few days. Then I would get some sort of anti-inflammatory like Benedryl and just accept the fact that one of your hands is going to be a useless misshapen claw for a few days.