Northern bears have such thick fur the bees can only attack nose and ears. The sunbear is short furred, but the taste of honey pays for the pain. I used to help a bee-keeper taking honey from his hives. He didn't even wear a veil. I have seen him get hundreds of stings on his bald spot, and
just occasionaly murmur:"Oh, cut it out, cut it out."
I didn't enjoy the twenty or so stings I got from bees that
found unprotected areas, but it didn't bother me very much
either. Of course he would have gotten many more stings if
he had not used smoke to mitigate their wrath. I'm not sure
how the smoke works. It may partially block the tiny tubes
through which they get oxygen. That's one of the big effects
of insect sprays.