There are 220 different kinds of bee in the United Kingdom
There are three main types:
These are the big furry ones that often produce a deep buzzing sound as
they move from flower to flower. They live in colonies of about 100 and produce small round mossy looking nests made of beeswax often in compost heaps, old mouse nests, under buildings or in the ground. They do not sting unless the nest is disturbed. At the end of the season the colony will die out and only new queens will hibernate through the winter.
Are brownish or yellow and black and are smaller and thinner than bumble bees. They too live in colonies, but the colonies are much bigger and consist of around 60,000 bees. They nest in beehives or in the wild in hollow trees or holes in walls and buildings. They do not die out in winter because during the summer they have collected food to store and feed them when there are few flowers with nectar and pollen around.
These bees vary widely in size, shape and colour. There are about 200 different sorts in this country. A female solitary bee builds her nest alongside nests of other similar females. Mining bees make their nests by burrowing into the mortar of walls. Leaf cutter bees cut up leaves to make long tubes or line existing tubes. They are active only for a few months when the pollen and nectar they need is available. They are unlikely to sting unless their nests are handled or disturbed.
If a bee hovers inquiringly in front of you, don’t flap your hands around, 
stay calm and move slowly away, try moving into the shade. The bee will soon lose interest. It is worth remembering that bees do not like the smell of alcohol on people, the "animal" smell of leather clothing, even watch straps. Bees regard dark clothing as a threat - it could be a bear! Bees are sometimes confused by scented soaps, shampoos and perfumes, take care near the hive.
Wasps are good guys - leave them alone!
Wasps are often confused with worker honey bees. In flight, bees are single minded foragers on flowers whilst wasps are hunting other insects as prey. Wasps have very clear black and yellow stripes on their bodies which makes them easy to distinguish from honey bees.
Although most people think of wasps as pests, they benefit mankind and the environment in many ways. They help control arthropod pests (flies, caterpillars, bugs, spiders, etc.) by preying on them. This really does help to cut down on the use of harmful pesticides. This is healthier for our environment in the long run. Wasps are also used in research and experiments. In some places in the world, people use the immature stages (larvae and pupae) of wasps as food for a good source of protein. Therefore, the benefits to humans far outweigh the harm which they do.
Honey bees that are away from the hive foraging for nectar or pollen will rarely sting, except when stepped on or roughly handled. Honey bees will actively seek out and sting when they perceive the hive to be threatened, often being alerted to this by the release of attack pheromones (chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual).
Although it is widely believed that a worker honey bee can sting only once, this is a partial misconception: although the sting is in fact barbed so that it lodges in the victim’s skin, tearing loose from the bee’s abdomen and leading to its death in minutes, this only happens if the victim is a mammal or bird. The bee’s sting is thought to have evolved for inter-bee combat between members of different hives, and the barbs serve to improve penetration of another insect’s body.
The sting consists of three parts: a stylus and two barbed slides, one on either side of the stylus. The bee does not push the sting in but it is drawn in by the barbed slides. The slides move alternately up and down the stylus so when the barb of one slide has caught and retracts it pulls the stylus and the other barbed slide into the wound. When the other barb has caught it also retracts up the stylus pulling the sting further in. This process is repeated until the sting is fully in and even continues after the sting and its mechanism is detached from the bee’s abdomen.
The first step in treating a bee sting is to remove of the sting itself. The sting should be removed as fast as possible: studies have shown that the amount of venom delivered does not differ if the sting is either pinched or scraped off, a delay of even a few seconds will lead to more venom being injected. Once the sting is removed, pain and swelling can be reduced with a cold compress.
Many traditional remedies for treating bee stings include damp pastes of salt, baking soda, toothpaste, clay, garlic, urine, onions, aspirin or even application of copper coins.
Bee venom is acidic and these remedies are often recommended to neutralize the venom; however, neutralizing a sting is unlikely to be effective as the venom is injected under the skin and deep into the tissues, where a topically applied alkali is unable to reach, so neutralization is unlikely to occur. In any case, the amount of venom injected is typically very small and placing large amounts of alkali near the sting site is unlikely to produce a perfectly neutral pH to stop the pain. Many people do claim benefit from these home remedies but it is doubtful they have any real physical effect on how much a sting hurts or continues hurting. The effect is probably related to rubbing the area or the mind perceiving benefit.
Generally you are unlikely to be stung by a wasp until autumn, unless you accidentally put your hand on one and they are defending themselves, or unless you disturb a wasps nest.
Up until late July and early August they are busy bringing up and feeding larval wasps, chasing insects, and foraging for food and maintenance materials for the nest.
After that their job is mainly done and they gorge themselves on the food they collect, especially on ripe and fermenting fruit; they become more and more dependent on sweet foodstuffs like these and will aggressively seek it out. Additionally it will be getting hot and very crowded in the nest; the internal temperature of the nest is 5 - 10ºC above the outside temperature, so on a good summer day it can reach 25 - 30ºC inside the nest. On top of this the nest’s population is at its highest.
It is at this time when they are most likely to sting humans, partly due to bad tempers caused by the heat and overcrowding in the nest, and partly in a semi-drunken reaction to being obstructed in their quest for sweet food.
When a wasp stings, it curves its abdomen downward and punctures the victim's skin with its sharp stinger. Muscles then drive the stinger deeper into the flesh. Meanwhile, venom is being pumped from the venom sac, through the stinger, and into the wound. It is similar to how a hypodermic needle works.
A wasp sting is alkali and there are numerous home remedies involving the use of vinegar and lemon juice to neutralize the sting. Like the home remedies for bee stings, they are unlikely to be effective for exactly the same reasons
A wasp sting can become dangerous, if the stinger gets cut off or breaks, while penetrating the skin. The foremost thing one needs to do is to take the stinger out immediately. Be careful while pulling it out, don't break it. Apply an ice pack (if needed, every hour) to reduce the wasp sting swelling.
Page last updated: 16 August, 2011
