# What stung me? Was it a bee?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 13, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212 "2013-02-13T20:30:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/1 "2013-02-13T20:30:54Z")
I was in a botanical gardens about 10 years ago. I don’t quite remember the circumstances, I may have put my hand down on a bench or something. A wave of pain hit me. I pulled my hand up and I think there was something sizable still there (like the bottom bit of a bee) at the base of my thumb. I flicked it off.
That sting hurt like #$%&\*. It was truly one of the most painful experiences in my life for the first hour. It hurt for at least 5-8 hours, and the swelling didn’t completely disappear for at least a week. I didn’t have any noticeable reactions (outside of the area) like swelling or difficulty breathing.
This doesn’t seem to match up with many other people’s experiences. I have seen people on TV talking about getting several stings when harvesting honey and they seem all nonchalant about it. Online, people compare it to a needle prick or a bad pinch.
Was what stung me a bee? Why did it hurt so terribly? Am I the world’s biggest wuss?
ETA: I’m in the southeastern US.
---
### Author:  [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/2 "2013-02-13T20:38:09Z")
It may have been a hornet - those things pack a wallop - much worse than a bee sting.
Or maybe a yellow jacket - those hurt more than bees, too.
---
### Author:  [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/3 "2013-02-13T20:54:22Z")
Could’ve been a bee, but maybe it hit a nerve or a sensitive spot? Also, if you flicked it off, it probably was a bee, I understand that hornets don’t leave a stinger
---
### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/4 "2013-02-13T21:04:43Z")
a bee or not a bee, that is the question
whether it’s more painful in the thumb to suffer
the stings and arrows of outrageous insects.
---
### Author:  [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/5 "2013-02-13T22:00:42Z")
Maybe you had an allergic reaction.
The bigger question is why did you wait 10 years to ask someone about it.
---
### Author:  [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/6 "2013-02-13T22:21:51Z")
I can’t think offhand of anything but bees that routinely leaves bits of themselves stuck in someone, but if you’d squished something, I suppose that could have left a bit stuck in regardless of what it was.
The effects of bee stings varies pretty widely between people, the only sting I’ve had so far kind of hurt a little bit for an hour or so, but that was it- however, other people say it hurts like a mofo for days. People who are stung often say the reaction gets milder every time they’re stung, so beekeepers tend to have less painful reactions than most (especially taken with the fact that people having a bad reaction tend to give up beekeeping a bit earlier).
Only way I can suggest finding out at this late date is getting yourself deliberately stung by a bee, and checking how much it hurts this time. 😃
---
### Author:  [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/7 "2013-02-13T22:30:31Z")
It’s also possible you pricked your thumb on a small or hidden thorn, possibly one with a mild venom.
For that duration of pain, there’s almost certainly venom involved. Of course, venom is also what makes bee stings hurt.
Also, having been recently stung by a bee for the first time since childhood I can say it’s not much worse than a papercut, or maybe a bad splinter.
---
### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/8 "2013-02-13T22:56:52Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#):
>
> Maybe you had an allergic reaction.
>
> The bigger question is why did you wait 10 years to ask someone about it.
Years of therapy.
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/9 "2013-02-14T00:16:37Z")
[Deerflies](http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2115.html) bite people and they hurt like hell (that link calls them “vicious and painful biters”). Deerflies are kind of striped yellow and black and [sort of resemble a bee at a quick glance](https://insects.tamu.edu/images/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/diptera/tabanidae/chrysops_unknown_adult_dorsal_m_01.jpg).
Horseflies also bite like mofos, but they’re much larger and grey so I don’t think you’de confuse one for a bee.
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/10 "2013-02-14T00:32:53Z")
On reflection, that picture wasn’t the greatest illustration of how a deerfly and a bee could be confused if you didn’t get a good look, because the yellow coloring wasn’t obvious. I think [this one is better](http://www.whatsthatbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/deer_fly_james-300x189.jpg).
---
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/11 "2013-02-14T00:41:58Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#):
>
> Maybe you had an allergic reaction.
>
> The bigger question is why did you wait 10 years to ask someone about it.
Something made me think about it today.
I didn’t mention this in the OP, but I was actually in the botanical gardens because I was about to propose to my (later) wife. It was not part of the proposal plan.
---
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/12 "2013-02-14T00:43:00Z")
> [@Filbert](#):
>
> Only way I can suggest finding out at this late date is getting yourself deliberately stung by a bee, and checking how much it hurts this time. 😃
That is an idea, but I think I will decline.
---
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/13 "2013-02-14T00:44:02Z")
> [@dstarfire](#):
>
> Also, having been recently stung by a bee for the first time since childhood I can say it’s not much worse than a papercut, or maybe a bad splinter.
See, that is why I question if it was a bee. Other people don’t think it was that awful.
---
### Author:  [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/14 "2013-02-14T00:46:58Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> [Deerflies](http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2115.html) bite people and they hurt like hell (that link calls them “vicious and painful biters”). Deerflies are kind of striped yellow and black and [sort of resemble a bee at a quick glance](https://insects.tamu.edu/images/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/diptera/tabanidae/chrysops_unknown_adult_dorsal_m_01.jpg).
>
> Horseflies also bite like mofos, but they’re much larger and grey so I don’t think you’de confuse one for a bee.
I have definitely been bitten by both of those before, usually around water (pool or lake). They sure are a pain in the butt, but not in the same league as my bee sting.
---
### Author:  [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/15 "2013-02-14T01:29:37Z")
Southern US location, the excruciatingly painful sting, rough resemblance to a bee: [paper wasp.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wasp)
Paper wasps get a # 3 rating on the Schmidt Pain Index. The only higher ranking insects are Tarantula Hawk Wasps (Pepsis) and Bullet Ants. T Hawks are only found in desert and semi desert areas in the US, and Bullet Ants aren’t found in the US at all.
[http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/05/16/schmidt-pain-index-which-sting/](http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/05/16/schmidt-pain-index-which-sting/)
> [@](#):
>
> Since their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and because their stings are quite painful and can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some individuals, nests in human-inhabited areas may present an unacceptable hazard.[6]
I’ve been stung by fire ants, honeybees, bald faced hornets, yellow jackets, and sweat bees. I wouldn’t describe any of these as intensely painful, just painful.
---
### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/16 "2013-02-14T01:32:34Z")
Ninjaed by 3 minutes by the redoubtable **Belowjob2.0**.
In other words, yes, it sounds like a paper wasp sting.
I grew up in Georgia, USA. Those are not friendly insects.
---
### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/17 "2013-02-14T02:13:37Z")
Ooooh, yeah, paper wasps, good call. Nasty little bastards. Used to get them on my porch in Virginia. Must have blocked the memories.
---
### Author:  [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/18 "2013-02-14T02:23:43Z")
So there is one Pepsis species in the southeast, pepsis menechma, “the _Elegant_ Tarantula Hawk”. Ignorance fought on my end.
> **[Tarantula Hawk - Pepsis menechma](https://bugguide.net/node/view/132781)**
>
> An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.
So if it wasn’t a paper wasp, maybe it was an eastern T Hawk.
---
### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/19 "2013-02-14T03:16:19Z")
Southeast? The most painful thing here is a cow killer, otherwise known as a velvet ant. They’re really a solitary wingless wasp, but they don’t leave their stingers. Paper wasps aren’t close in the pain department.
---
### Author:  [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)
#### Post date: [February 14, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212/20 "2013-02-14T15:06:47Z")
"See, that is why I question if it was a bee. Other people don’t think it was that awful. "
And still other people are killed by bee sting.
Personal experience, Two years ago, I had a heart attack(went “a-fib” as they say) brought on by multiple bee stings to my stomach area - and the areas of the sting were swollen and painful 'til the next day, so I pretty much do think they can be “that awful”.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-stung-me-was-it-a-bee/650212.md?page=2)