Most folks are familiar with bees early from their childhood in the form of honey bees or bumble bees.  They come in a large number of species on several continents.  Hornets and wasps tend to have sleeker bodies and lack fuzz, compared to bees which look like little yellow and red poof-balls.  Most bees, like honeybees) live in colonies.

Even honeybees can deliver a painful sting to a perceived threat, but unlike other insect species, a bee can usually only sting an opponent once before the stinger and venom gland rips out of the insects body, lodged in the opponent.  At this point the bee dies and releases a chemical message alerting other bees in the area of the threat.

Save for those who have a severe allergic reaction to bee stings, a singular bee sting is painful but often not serious.  Bees are generally less aggressive than hornets or wasps, with the exception of the dreaded and much-hyped killer bee species, which is a hybrid of different honey bees that happen to be much more aggressive than your typical bee.  A singular killer bee sting likewise won’t kill you, but killer bees are known to follow perceived threats over longer distances more aggressively in order to kill the threat, thus making them more dangerous than traditional honey bees.

Avoiding a run-in with any bees is a good idea for protecting yourself. Be aware of the various fruits and flowers prefer to collect pollen to stay away from them.

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