![]() Carpenter BeesĬarpenter bees, those gentle giants of the bee world, bear a striking resemblance to bumblebees with their large size, but have less fuzz on their bodies and a shinier, mostly black abdomen. If you’re allergic to bees or aren’t sure, or if you experience any severe pain or swelling, seek medical attention immediately. For especially painful stings, you might want to take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory (if your medical provider agrees, of course). To reduce any swelling, apply a cold compress. This way, you are less likely to accidentally squeeze more venom from the sac of the bee into your skin. Rather than using tweezers or your fingers, use a blunt-edged object with a flat surface, such as a playing card or credit card to gently scrape the stinger off the surface of the skin. Honeybee Sting TreatmentĬontrary to other bee and wasp stings, when treating a honeybee sting, you must first remove the stinger from the skin, as the stinger may cause infection and allow the venom to continue being absorbed into your tissue. Be sure the honey bee’s stinger is removed after a sting. Honeybee StingsĪs we mentioned earlier, females of the honeybee species – unlike other bee species, along with wasps and hornets, all of which can sting multiple times – will leave a stinger inserted into the skin after their attack. These nonnative pollinators are social bees that live in hives, and true to their name, produce honeycomb and honey. The honebbee, a species that was introduced to North America, plays an important role in agriculture (though conservationists caution that they are outcompeting native bees) 5. Read on to learn about the specific behaviors of all these species and how to treat their stings. If you experience a systemic reaction, go to your nearest emergency room! While these are less common occurrences, it’s important to be mindful after a wasp sting (or bee sting for that matter) and to monitor the reactions closely. Systemic Reaction: Systemic reactions are generally more severe and include variations of hives, anaphylactic allergic reactions and life-threatening circulatory collapse. Swelling can last anywhere from 48 hours to an ten days. It can also sometimes lead to blistering. Localized Reactions: Local reactions can range in severity but generally include more noticeable swelling that extends beyond just the afflicted area 3. Beyond the symptoms of minor swelling and some short-lived pain, some people experience more extreme reactions from wasp stings and bee stings. Most people that have experienced a sting notice a small, angry swelling around the area and some mild to medium-intense pain, generally for 10 to 15 minutes. ![]() Yikes! Symptoms of Bee, Wasp and Hornet Stingsīee, wasp and hornet sting symptoms are, on the whole, very similar. Wasps even have a special sheath that slips over their stinger, allowing them to disengage it from the skin! Except for honeybees, which have a barbed stinger that they often leave behind in the skin, 2 most bees (including carpenter bees and the generally docile bumblebee) and wasps can actually sting multiple times and do not lose their stinger. 1Īnother common trait, and one that is often misunderstood, is the number of times a bee or wasp can sting. Wasps’ and bees’ stingers are actually egg-laying organs called ovipositors, so males cannot sting. ![]() ![]() It’s also worth noting that all bees, wasps and hornets share one very important trait: only the females of each species will sting, and generally only when provoked or defending a nest. (If you want to know the solution ASAP, check out our Bug Bite Sucker. However, while bees and wasps may at first glance appear similar (read about how to identify different types of wasps and carpenter bees versus bumblebees), the different species’ ability to sting, their venom and even the pain index of their stings can differ significantly.īefore we can talk about how to approach bee and wasp sting treatment, however, it’s important to know the behaviors of two commonly misidentified stinging species – bees and wasps – so you can identify which insect may have stung you. If you’ve ever been the victim of a surprise bee sting (or worse yet, a wasp or hornet sting), you know just how unpleasant the experience can be. ![]()
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