A victim’s reaction to a bee sting may vary considerably from one bee species to another because the venom or toxin of different species is quite different. Strictly speaking a bee sting means a sting from a honeybee, bumblebee or a sweat bee. In the wider scope of the vernacular a bee stings refers to a bee, a wasp, a hornet, a yellow jacket, a sawfly or even a horsefly.

Wasps are the most aggressively stinging insects but hornets are, for the most part, gentle. All these insects defend their nest with militant fervor but none have developed stings targeting mammals like the honeybees.

Unless it is stepped on or otherwise threatened, honeybees will rarely sting when out hunting for nectar or pollen but they will vigorously sting when they sense a threat to their hive. The honeybee stinger evolved for combat between member honeybees of different hives and it enabled the stinging bee multiple stings without fatal consequences.

Sometime later, however, the honeybee’s stinger evolved as an anti-mammal defense and became barbed. Thus, once the stinger lodges in the mammals or bird’s skin it tears loose from the bee’s abdomen and leads to its death in minutes. These barbed stingers can still penetrate another bee and retract safely.

Along with the toxin injection into a victim, alarm pheromones are released and they can attract other bees from a nearby hive or swam to likewise exhibit defensive behavior until the threat is removed either because it fled or died. Pheromones do not wash off easily and if the victim submerges in water, the awaiting bees will resume their offensive as soon as the victim resurfaces.

The larger drone bees do not have stingers at all while the worker bees and the queen bee have smooth stingers that are not left behind and can, if need be, sting multiple times. The first step following a honeybee sting is removal of the barbed stinger and this should either be done by pinching it out or scraping it off.

The longer the stinger remains in the victim’s skin the more venom is released therefore it is imperative to remove it as quick as possible. Once the stinger is removed, pain and swelling can be relieved with cold compresses. Applying mouthwash on a cotton ball will also help to relieve the pain.

A single bee sting can cause a dangerous anaphylactic reaction that is potentially deadly in people who are allergic and immediately medical attention must be sought. Thankfully, these cases are quire rare.