Honey bee sting or wasp?

[alleyyooper]

Honey bees can only sting you once as the stinger has a barb that pulls the stinger and venom sac out of the girls body and she dies. Yes girl as the males (drones) do not have stingers. There are many ways to relieve the pain from a sting, first scrap the stinger out with a finger nail of some thing like a knife blade or scraper. then several potices are applied as well as taking Benadryl.
Yellow jackets are WASP and not bees, they can sting you several times unlike the honey bee. I recommend Benadryl ASAP then the use of many of the potices people recommend.
Yellow jackets are the sting terrorist of the stinging insect world that many blame on the honey bee.
I get so tired and POD when I hear fools say they are highly allergic to bee stings and don't even know that the venom is different between a yellow jacket and a honey bee. They also don't carry an Epi Pen that could save their life.
 
So with summer coming on stock up on Benadryl and try to id what really stung you, it could save your life if you go into shock.
 
    Al

[JB Weld]

One thing that makes the yellow Jacket so dangerous is that when they sting you they emit a pheromone that "tells" the other YJ to sting. It starts a snowball effect and that is why they will swarm and sting. The best thing you can do is run and get out of the pheromone "cloud".

[spruce]

Be careful with your soft drinks when you're outside too.  About 25 years ago a local guy was camping with his family at a state park.  He had a can of pop, set it down for a few minutes while he was doing something else, and when he picked it up and took a drink a bee was in it and stung him in the throat.  He died before any emergency help could respond.
 
Don't know what kind of bee it was or if he was allergic to stings or was more due to the location of the sting, but his airway swelled shut.
 
Ever since then if I have a can of pop outside I never take my eyes off it.  Usually make it a point to drink from a bottle or a glass so I can look before I drink!

[SHOOTALL]

When I was a kid I up set a bunch of bees and got stung over 20 times. A couple years later I upset a nest of red wasp and they attacked me with over 20 stings. Since I have little trouble from stings . Well except from a Big hornet a few years back . Back when I got stung they mixed tobacco and bleach and put it over the stings. It must work well . About 20 years ago a guy on the job got stung . It was the first time and he started to have a reaction. Well it was out in the country and a guy working with him knew what was going on. He got the guy in his truck and went to a doctor. The doc knew the deal and went out and gave him a shot in his chest . He lived . You just never know.

[Ranger99]

the tobacco or bleach either one
will work if you you have one or the
other. it's always a good idea to
have some benadryl on hand. even
if you don't need it, someone else might.

[Ranger99]

most meat tenderizer powders will
work also.

[tacklebury]

Don't forget Ball face hornets too.  I was stung 18 times on one ear by them and my ear was as big as my head!  Luckily, I'm not allergic or I'da been dead.  Oh and mud is a great poultice that doesn't require prep.  I've even picked up a handful of dirt, spat on it and rubbed it.  At our farm, it's mostly clay though and works great. 

[briarpatch]

A problem with bee, ant, bug stings is, you can get stung several times and be alright but the next one will shut you down.
Also with benadryl, when you get stung, take a dose when you get stung, if you wait for a reaction it is too late.

[alleyyooper]

Honey bees also put out a  pheromone. Running is just a joke also. you can not out run a inset that fly's about 15 MPH. best to try to stay calm with out swatting at them and walk to the nearest building or with honey bees a tree works most times.
Honey bees will not normally go for beer or soda/pop as they are not scavengers. Time when they may do so is when in a drought and nectar is in short supply.
Honey bees also do not hibernate. Yellow jackets and bald face hornets die when winter comes. Only the queen will find a place to hibernate.
Some jerk trespassing bird hunters ruined the floor in one of my deer blinds when they shot this nest several times with their shot guns. those hornets were in the woods and bothering no one where they were but the trespassers sure did. that nest was probably empty during Michigan's UPPER bird season came about.
 

 

 
    Al
 
 

[JB Weld]

" bees also put out a  pheromone. Running is just a joke also. you can not out run a inset that fly's about 15 MPH. best to try to stay calm with out swatting at them and walk to the nearest building or with honey bees a tree works most times."

I think a man would have some serious ice water in his veins to calmly walk away from a stinging swarm of bees.
I am running! I might be tired when I get stung, but I bet I will get stung less than the guy who is speaking to the stinging bees in a quiet soothing voice as he calmly walks away from a bee swarm! Ha! I will be moving out like my hind end is on fire and my hair is a catchin'!

[tacklebury]

I have to disagree on running also.  I've heard and read that bees will typically only chase for about 300 yards, but if you cannot make it that far then you should probably do as you state.  They get beyond 1/4 mile and they start losing their bearings and the pheromones get less potent as they disperse.  I do know that jumping in water is a fools errand, especially with africanized honey bees.  The two are very different also.  Hard to tell other than the africanized are known to be much more aggressive and not require injury to hive or members to start the pheromone chain reaction.

[SHOOTALL]

When the bees attacked me for messing with their nest I did not run . I was about 6 years old and when they started stinging I started pulling them off crushing them , I didn't not run on purpose it was just what happened. Although there were hundreds of bees I only got stung around 20 times. The bees came out a few stung me and then most went back in the nest/hive.  Maybe there is some truth to not running.

[deer140]

I'm not an expert on honeybees, I have friends that mess with them a lot. They tell me that sting by the hive are the guards. For the most part, the workers. Bees don't sting they normally only sting when the hive is being invaded. If you really want know the difference. One told me that if you get a hold of and look on its belly. It has an H on their and they almost never sting. Like I said this was told to me. My friends.

[FPH]

I started pulling them off crushing them

You should never crush them.  They will give off a chemical scent which will attract more bees.  I use to love to take drones to school and release them in class.  No sting but scare a lot of kids and teachers.

[alleyyooper]

We run about 100 colonies on average in two counties. Most honey bees are pretty docile. I used to tell people that bees in swarms don't usually sting. Wife made me stop saying that cause it seemed like I would no longer get it out and she would get stung. I still stand by the statement even though I no longer say it.
This is a normal swarm of honey bees. I get many calls a year to come get them from peoples yards.

 

 
I also do honey bee clean ups after storms. I did this one in Flint Michigan on Fathers day 2011. Guy had called several bee keepers closer but they would not come for several reasons fathers day and just it being Flint. One of the most enjoyable clean ups I have ever did. The residents made a block party out of it. When I left all that was left was a few leaves and small branches a guy said he was going to sweep up and put in his compost pile.

 

 
There are many yellow Jacket traps home built on the internet. I make them out of water bottles and milk jugs. Nothing more than a half full bottle of dish soap and water a 3/8 inch hole and some jelly/jam.
I recommend them to people who seem to have problems when camping.
 
    Al