The female bees (worker bees and queens) are the only ones that can sting, and their stinger is a modified ovipositor. The queen bee has a barbed but smoother stinger and can, if need be, sting skin-bearing creatures multiple times, but the queen does not leave the hive under normal conditions.

Which bee is most likely to sting?

Social bees and wasps that live in colonies are much more likely to sting in defense of a hive or nest than their solitary counterparts. Honey bees, yellow jackets, and paper wasps are the most common bee and wasp sting offenders in the US by far, says Schmidt.

What kind of bees will attack you?

Africanized bees will attack any perceived threat in much greater numbers than European honey bees. In comparison, an average honey bee may alert ten drones, whereas an Africanized honey bee will send out 1,000. Often victims of an attack will have hundreds of stings.