We live in a world filled with insects. When you play or work outside, it is easy to get bitten or stung. Bees, fire ants, and ticks are some of the most common types of biting and stinging insects. What are they? How can you avoid them? And what should you do if you get stung?
A "bee" is the term many people use to describe any insect that has wings and a stinger. But bees are part of a larger scientific group. This group also includes wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets. All bees have several wings, hairy bodies, and stingers. They include both solitary and social species. They also have sucking and chewing mouthparts that let them gather nectar and pollen.
Wasps have slender bodies with a narrow abdomen. They also have two pairs of wings and mouths adapted for biting or sucking. They can also be solitary or social insects. One type of social wasp is the yellow jacket.
Hornets are large, strong wasps. The common @European species is dark brown and yellow. It is very aggressive, and its sting is very severe. They build large, papery nests. The nests have combs arranged in columns. The hornets raise their young in the combs.
Bees and wasps use stingers to protect themselves. You will feel a sharp pain at the site of the sting. The area may also feel hot, and it may itch. That's because there's venom in the stinger. A red bump surrounded by a white area will also develop.
When a bee stings, it may leave the stinger in your skin. Remove it carefully. You don't want to push it farther in. Wash the site with soap and water. You can also mix up some meat tenderizer and water. Soak a cotton ball in the solution. Then rub the sting with it. If you don't have meat tenderizer, you can hold an ice cube against the site.
For most people, a bee sting is painful but nothing more. However, about two out of one hundred people will have an allergic reaction. The symptoms may include hives (red patches on the skin that sting and itch), nausea, dizziness, swelling, and difficulty breathing.
