Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-173.87.66.182-20130718045359/@comment-36130067-20180805013857

I learned very well not to touch a bumblebee when I was about 3 years old. I have been stung by wasps a couple times, I think, and quite a few times by honeybees. Unless you are unusually vulnerable, the latter are no big deal unless they attack you en masse. My grandfather kept about a dozen beehives on his farm and I loved helping him tend them. In high school I had a hive or two myself and have always wanted to take up that hobby again. Most beekeepers eventually become immune to honeybee stings. But for a few, their sensitivity increases. A bit of trivia: queen bees have a more powerful sting than worker bees, but they use it only on rival queen bees in a fight to the death. Drone bees (the males) have no sting at all.