10:45am UK, Monday June 27, 2005

Philip McCabe was hoping he would be buzzing... but instead there was a sting in the tale.

Bee lover Mr McCabe failed in his attempt to wear the world's biggest bee beard.

180 Philip McCabe bees

Bees knees: Only Mr McCabe's legs are showing

Up to 500,000 bees were supposed to crawl over his naked skin.

Honey was smeared over Mr McCabe's body and a queen bee held in a small cage hung around his neck to attract the swarm.

Tissues were also placed in his nostrils to keep the bees out while he wore a mouth mask and goggles for added protection.

But the wind and clouds conspired to stop the record attempt from flying.

After a few hours, only 200,000 bees had joined the beard.

"The difficulty was we couldn't get the bees onto me. The breeze kept blowing them away," Mr McCabe told Sky News.

"It would have taken two to three hours get the bees onto me."

Jumping up and down vigorously was enough to dislodge the bees once the record attempt was over.

And the bee enthusiast said hesuffered only a few stings.

The world record was set by American Mark Biancaniello, who was covered by an estimated 350,000 bees in July, 1998.

Mr McCabe's attempt was part of the build-up to Apimondia Ireland 2005, which will attract more than 6,000 beekeepers and honey producers from around the world from August 21st - 26th.