OMG, Is it going to sting me?

        "Bees"! Just the word can strike fear in some people's hearts, but did you know that the majority of "bees" are not dangerous at all! Now that we are in the peak of "bee" season, I thought I would write something to help people understand. I will put some videos and pictures at the end of this post for anyone to watch.
       There are basically two categories of "bees". Members of the wasp family and true bees. And within each of these groups there are "Social bees" and "solitary bees". True bees, in CT are made up up of honey bees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, and ground bees. Social bees are ones that build hives which contain dozens (bumblebees) to tens of thousands (honey bees). Both of these will sting, if provoked, but are usually not very aggressive. Solitary bees are carpenter bees and ground bees. While there may be many solitary bees around in a certain area, each one is an individual, and they do not make up a "hive". The reason there are so many there is because the habitat is good for them. Solitary bees, while capable of stinging rarely ever do. The reason is that because if they sting, they are likely to die, and therefore cannot pass on their genes or DNA to the next generation. Social bees can be somewhat more aggressive because if they sting and then die, the hive lives on and it's genes are passed on. They give their life to protect the hive. While ground bees may look terrifying, you can actually walk right into them and you won't be stung!
       The same groupings can be done with wasps. Solitary wasps like the Mud dauber (These build little mud tubes and feed mostly on spiders) and the many species (all uncommon) of "digger" wasps (you'll find these between the pieces of flagstone on your patio) are totally harmless and will not sting and are very beneficial. Paper wasps build those little gray paper nests that are not enclosed and in which the comb can be seen. These are semi aggressive. If they are close to a door, or an area where there is a lot of human activity, they can present a problem, but up at the roof line where they typically are, they are no problem. Yellow jackets (don't confuse these with Mediterranean wasps- a lot of people do) and Bald Face Hornets are truly dangerous insects. Stumble into one of their nests, and they will attack in multiple numbers and each one can sting repeatedly. Many people find these (yellow jackets in the ground) with their lawn mower or weed wacker, so be careful out there. So basically there are really only three "bees" that will possibly sting you. Paper wasps, yellow jackets, and Bald faced hornets. So if there are others around just ignore them and they won't bother you.