Yuck @ bees, wasps and SPIDERS!

At least spiders will eat the others.

Honey Bees, (not the africanized ones) are really quite harmless and beneficial.  And unless you are alergic to them, there sting is only a minor irritant.

Wasps are the most evil looking things, and they do sting.  But their sting is only mildly worse than a Bee, and they are also very beneficial as they do take care of SPIDERS (note for Mano) and other insects.

Bumblebees are a freak of nature.  They are not supposed to be able to fly, yet do.  They build nests in rotting wood, and generally leave you alone, unless like me, you try to catch them.  Their sting, while their appearance would indicate otherwise, is very wimpy.

Hornets are nasty mean rotten bastards!  They exist for no other reason than to harrass you and sting the shit out of you!  Their stings feel like someone sticking a hot poker on you!  Unlike Honey Bees, they do not loose their stinger after stinging, and they gang up on you!  These things are an abomination from hell!  A pure devil spawn!

The last is what you probably had.  Wasps build paper and mud nests (depending upon the species), bees live in hives (they enter and exit by the same means), Bumble bees dont care for dry wall.  But Hornets will build nests anywhere and are too stupid to figure out how they got in in the first place.  They look like Honey bees, but are not fuzzy.  They are to be erradicated whereever they are found, or they will spread their venom with a diabolical glee!

How do I know all this?  I have been stung by all of them.  But only the Hornets swarmed me (twice) and damn near sent me to the hospital with over 2 dozen stings each time! (I am not allergic to any of them).

As far as I know, Hornets serve no useful purpose and are so Eeeeeevvvvvvil that they live to harrass humans.  Nothing more, nothing less.

They are not supposed to be able to fly, yet do.

They've never studied aerodynamics so you can't blame them for not knowing they aren't able to fly.

When I was a kind in Louisiana we had several cedar trees in the yard. In one of these was a large hornet nest. One of our favorite games (if not smartest) was to take turns reaching in and shaking the nest and then trying to outrun the hornets. Many neighborhood kids went home daily with large welts on their backs from losing the race with the hornets. When they hit you it was like being hit by a bullet.

As I was one of the fastest runners I was rarely hit. You really didn't need to outrun the hornets, just the other kids. Amazing the ways kids amuse themselves.

Bees...Yikes. There is a fragrant bush (I have no idea what type it is...has tiny white flowers) in front of my new home that attracts bees...I am told to just ignore it, but geez...I'm scared to get stung someday soon...maybe I should call pest control...lol

unless you are alergic to them, there sting is only a minor irritant.

It can be quite beneficial to some people. D and I are thinking about keeping bees when we buy our homestead...mainly for pollination of the orchard we want to have, but also for the honey and the stings. Holistic practitioners use their stings as a therapy for people with auto-immune disease like RA and Lupus. The bee keepers freeze the bees and ship them off...works really well, apparently.

Hornets are nasty mean rotten bastards!

I'll second that, and their stings hurt like the dickens! Hot poker doesn't even begin to describe it...I hollered out loud when I got 'bit'.

Hornets will build nests anywhere and are too stupid to figure out how they got in in the first place

We had a big ol' nest on the back eaves of our house a couple of years ago. Looked like a basketball that had been covered in duct tape. The entomology guy didn't believe us when we told him over the phone that it was that big, so he was surprised to see that we were telling the truth when he came out.

If bees are your friend, then hornets are the asshole neighbor who lets his dog shit in your yard.

As I was one of the fastest runners I was rarely hit. You really didn't need to outrun the hornets, just the other kids. Amazing the ways kids amuse themselves.

Hahahaha!  From a slow poke!

Actually, both times I got swarmed was when they built the nest in the yard and I mowed it.  So I did not see them coming until I felt the bullets!

i find this topic and its subsequent comments more than a lil distressing.

If bees are your friend, then hornets are the asshole neighbor who lets his dog shit in your yard.

Here! Here!  Well said!

As for the bee sting being medicinal, I have heard that.  Half the time when I get stung, it feels like a fly bite, or I dont even feel it! (I see the stinger hanging out of my foot).  But I will pass on the bee stings unless I develop one of those diseases

When I was a kid, I was eating lunch outside with my siblings and when I went to take a drink of koolaid I felt a sudden frantic buzzing in my mouth. I opened my mouth to scream, letting out a stream of red koolaid and a very, very frightened and confused bumble bee. Poor thing, he was so messed up he couldn't even fly straight. Thank goodness I didn't swallow or bite down. o_0

Actually, both times I got swarmed was when they built the nest in the yard and I mowed it. So I did not see them coming until I felt the bullets!

Yeah I've mowed over more than a few yellow jacket nests.

Here in Florida, fire ants are more of a problem than bees. When I was a kid here I saw a friend fall down on a fire ant nest. Turned out he was allergic to their bite and died on the way to the hospital.

Dr. Guy: I think we decided they were paper wasps, but since no one was stung can't use that to decide. From your description I would say they were hornets, not bright enough to go out the way they came in and they did look like bees but not fuzzy. But they didn't try to sting me, perhaps getting out the window was more important?
MasonM: You were a crazy kid. Parated2k was right, none of us should reach adulthood with the stuff we do as kids Ouch, bad ants
InBloom: Do you like the bush? So long as the bees are outside, leave them alone and they should do the same. But it's your house, so your call, of course.
dharmagrl: Stingers as medicine, interesting. I've read some about how honey is good for various reasons, but stingers is news to me.
kingbee: Well I can't speak for anyone else, but keep your subjects out of my house and we'll get along fine
Cordelia: Koolaid, the bees favorite drink? Definetly good that you spit instead of swallowed.

I like bees as long as they stay away from me. Like Cordelia, I have found bees in my softdrink - somehow they managed to get into the vending machine. Fortunately, I saw first before I brought the cup to my lips.

Ravenblack: That's good, beter to find them with your eye then mouth.
little_whip: I didn't know that, but I suspected as much. Those insect types sure use alot of those chemical messengers, they must have a good sense of smell.

I didn't know that, but I suspected as much. Those insect types sure use alot of those chemical messengers, they must have a good sense of smell.

Or stock in Chemical companies?