Wild bees

[Leslie Simpson]

Be careful. A bumblebee bite is no joke. We had a colony, but with the cold weather they became more aggressive for some reason. I had to get rid of the family. Maybe something went wrong with us, but we need to foresee all the moments.

[Plot70]

Mine never got aggressive.
They produced two broods of queens and then the activity just gradually slowed down.
Are you sure yours were not just common stinging wasps. They always become aggressive at this time of year.

[mothhawk]

Be careful. A bumblebee bite is no joke. We had a colony, but with the cold weather they became more aggressive for some reason. I had to get rid of the family. Maybe something went wrong with us, but we need to foresee all the moments.

Bumblebees are not aggressive and most assuredly do not bite. They MAY sting as a last resort if you seriously interfere with their nesting site, or if they get trapped, in clothing for example. Are you sure they were bees?

[nickdub]

I've been stung by bumble-bees, got too near their nest for their liking. The thing is with stings everyone reacts a bit differently, for me at least I'd say I'd got a little less sensitive to bee stings over the years, and so they hurt less. I'd say a bumblebee sting to me was a bit less painful than either a honeybee or wasp sting - but then again there are different type of bumblebee so my experience is limited. I think wasps get more aggressive as the seasons ends on the basis that they are at a loose end, a bit like some groups of teenagers who hang around bus stations looking for trouble partly because they are bored.

[Plot70]

Bees can only sting once so they only sting as a last resort.
You can tell the difference as a bee leaves its single use sting behind while a common wasp can use its sting again so leaves nothing more than the irritation and pain behind.

[mothhawk]

I don't find honeybee stings any more painful than a nettle sting, and the pain stops in a minute or two. It's the itchiness next day that's a bother, though I've found that a quick rub over the sting with a cut lemon cures that immediately.

[nickdub]

As I said before, reaction to stings is an individual thing, I believe I've built up some tolerance to honeybee stings over the years. One aspect of it is that near a hive where you are more likely to get stung, one sting will send other workers nearby into attack mode, so the best bet is to move rapidly away from the hive. Some bee-keepers become more rather than less sensitive to stings over the years and so have had to give up keeping bees altogether on medical advice.

One further point, the most dangerous place to be stung is in the mouth or on the tongue, so whatever you do if stung once, resist the urge to scream or shout until you are sure there are no more bees near you.

[Plot70]

To me a wasp sting is just ouch plus expletive followed by a bit of irritation.
I have not been stung by a bee for many years.

[Leslie Simpson]

Mine never got aggressive.
They produced two broods of queens and then the activity just gradually slowed down.
Are you sure yours were not just common stinging wasps. They always become aggressive at this time of year.

Bumblebees are not aggressive and most assuredly do not bite. They MAY sting as a last resort if you seriously interfere with their nesting site, or if they get trapped, in clothing for example. Are you sure they were bees?

These were bumblebees and their aggression was rather strange. This was not the case before. Therefore, I am now wary of such settlements. Perhaps someone made the bumblebees angry that they showed aggression or that something interfered with them. I am not an expert on the psychology of bumblebees. But these were definitely not hornets. A couple of years ago, we found a nesting site of hornets in the undergrowth, barely brought it out. They are definitely dangerous, a very high chance of an allergic reaction even in a person who is not prone to allergies.

[Plot70]

People joke about stirring up hornets nests.
The good thing about hornets is that they rarely nest in places that cause conflict with people.
If you really do disturb a hornets nest you will not have time between the ouches for the expletives.

[Leslie Simpson]

We did not disturb him. They just noticed that hornets appeared and carefully surveyed the territory, so we had to be very smart to destroy the nest. If they had not flown into our garden, we would not have touched them. But they are in our garden, and we have children. Not the most pleasant neighborhood.

[nickdub]

I had a humungous hornet's nest in one of my sheds a few years back. It was a thing of great beauty with swirling cream and brown patterns and hung down about 2' from the ceiling. Needless to say I gave the hornets a very wide berth.

[Plot70]

With hornets they usually survey there proposed nest site before they move in and respect there surroundings.
If you regularly access a shed hornets and bees will adapt to the human activity and tolerate it.
Wasps are just aggressive and cause annoying problems and have less common sense when it comes to nest site choice.
I had to remove a wasps nest from the hollow door lintel in a lock-up garage due to them becoming very aggressive each time the vehicle was used. Wasps just become more aggressive as the season goes on.
With the bees I could walk past the nest entrance and they just carried on flying past my legs.
I could hear them humming under the shed floor and the sound did not change as I moved about inside the shed.

[mothhawk]

...One further point, the most dangerous place to be stung is in the mouth or on the tongue, so whatever you do if stung once, resist the urge to scream or shout until you are sure there are no more bees near you.

Many years ago I was stung inside my mouth by a bumblebee while running around the playground at school. the teacher removed the sting, dabbed the sting site with bicarbonate of soda, and I was sent back to class.

People didn't fuss so much in those days......

[Plot70]

Last time I got stung by a wasp I just shouted ouch followed by an expletive and carried on picking the plums.