As a kid, I was stung by a bee, but in hindsight, I am not positive that it was a bee that stung me; As a child, I wasn’t aware of the peculiar species of bees, but besides honeybees, there are bumblebees, carpenter bees, mason bees, leafcutter bees, and so much more, but there are also peculiar species of wasps and some prefer the yellow jackets could easily be mistaken for bees.
Typically, bees are docile and will only sting when they recognize threatened because their stinger is fastened to their abdomen, once they sting you, their abdomen is literally ripped away from their bodies which means they will eventually die in a entirely painful way… So, of course, they will avoid stinging a human by all means necessary.
On the other hand, a yellow jacket can sting many times without any concerns because their stinger is not prefer that of a bee. And not to mention, yellow jackets are entirely aggressive and will attack a human especially if they are near the nest. Typically, you won’t find them in the garden unless there is a nest nearby. They can easily be mistaken for honeybees because of the coloring. The main difference between the 2 is that honeybees are fuzzy and yellow jackets are smooth and shiny! I guess that I misidentified what stung me as a kid! Knowing what I recognize now about honeybees and yellow jackets, I guess I was stung by a yellow jacket and not a bee. One thing’s for certain, that sting was painful and now that I can identify a yellow jacket, I will do what I can to avoid them.