Summer stings: Allergic reactions are the greatest health risks from bees and wasps

For most people, a bee or wasp sting is an unpleasant part of summer - a sharp pain, some swelling, maybe a tale to tell later.

For those severely allergic to sting venom, it can become a medical emergency within moments.

Read more in the series.

Lower Burrell resident Brandie Baughman has learned that lesson more than once. The first time was about 30 years ago: One sting sent her to the ER, where doctors told her she was highly allergic.

The second time - when she accidentally ran her mower over a ground wasp nest and received more than 50 stings - almost killed her. "It was bees chasing me," she said. "And like a dummy - you know, you're in your 20s, you think you're invincible - I didn't have my EpiPen actually on me."

Inside her home, Baughman administered one injection of epinephrine and called her father. But by the time he arrived minutes later, she had collapsed in the yard. He shook her awake, and she managed to climb in his car, where she lost consciousness a few times en route to the hospital.

While Pennsylvania is home to hundreds of species of bees and wasps, the number truly posing a danger to humans is quite small, said Nash Turley, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State University's department of entomology. Most bees and wasps - a vast majority - are solitary creatures that do not live in hives and are rarely even seen by humans, he said.

It's the social species - such as honey and bumble bees, yellow jackets, paper wasps and hornets - that can act highly aggressive when protecting their hives.

But Baughman's experience, said Thomas Makin, an Allegheny Health Network allergist and immunologist, reflects the danger and reality of venom allergies.

"For a small number of people, a severe allergic reaction, known as anaphylaxis, can occur," Makin said in an email. "This presents immediately after a sting, with widespread hives and swelling, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and/or low blood pressure."

He emphasized that anaphylaxis is life threatening and requires immediate treatment with epinephrine.

"Common mistakes include delaying seeking care or trying to treat reactions with antihistamines alone," said Makin, as such delays can make allergic reactions more challenging to bring under control.

Makin said people with diagnosed sting allergies should carry two epinephrine auto-injectors at all times: In some cases, one dose may not be enough.

From minor to severe

At urgent care centers across the Pittsburgh region, physicians routinely see patients dealing with reactions that range from mild swelling to full anaphylaxis.

"We see quite a few bee and wasp stings throughout the year, especially during bug season," said Peter Kang, the associate medical director of UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care.

"That spectrum of symptoms can be anything from a very small, localized area of swelling and mild tenderness, all the way to the most severe issue," anaphylaxis, where the body can become overwhelmed, he said, noting that Pittsburgh's "outdoorsy" culture may contribute to how often residents encounter stinging insects.

About 70 people die annually from bee and wasp stings, with women at a slightly higher risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mild stings can often be managed at home with antihistamines, hydrocortisone cream and proper wound care, Kang said. But worsening swelling, spreading redness or systemic symptoms should raise concern.

An Eastern yellowjacket.(Nash Turley)

"If you're developing real red flag symptoms, like you started developing hives all over your body, you get facial swelling, your throat gets tight, you start feeling dizzy, you start feeling a racing weak pulse, or if you start feeling any shortness of breath," people should seek immediate medical attention.

Kang said severe allergic reactions can sometimes develop unpredictably. Even if previous stings elicited only minor reactions in the past, full anaphylaxis may result at any time, he said, stressing the importance of always monitoring symptoms following a run-in with a bee or wasp.

Makin said severe reactions can develop due to genetics and repeated exposure to stinging insects. He added that people who have previously experienced severe reactions are at the highest risk of future anaphylaxis.

For Baughman, the allergy changed her daily routines. She now avoids mowing grass and remains vigilant during warmer months. Her EpiPens accompany her everywhere.

Kang cautioned against common home remedies and outdated advice: Don't use tweezers to pluck a stinger from your skin. Instead, scrape it away carefully with something like a credit card to avoid injecting additional venom.

He also warned that folk remedies such as meat tenderizer pastes, toothpaste or other topical concoctions may worsen irritation or increase infection risk.

Common ancestors

While many people think primarily of bees when discussing sting allergies, bees actually evolved from wasps roughly 120 million years ago, explained Turley.

The wasp family is an enormous group, with modern bees likely evolving from flower-dwelling wasps that preyed on tiny insects called thrips, he said. That evolutionary relationship helps explain why bees and wasps share many physical characteristics, including stingers and venom.

If you've been stung, it was by a female bee or wasp, Turley said, explaining that their stingers evolved from egg-laying organs.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about bees and wasps is assuming all are aggressive or live in vast social hives, he said. Instead, the vast majority of these insects are solitary.

Turley estimates that about 90% of bee species in Pennsylvania live alone rather than in large hives, like honey bees or bumble bees.

Because they are not part of a hive community, "it makes it difficult to impossible for [wild bees] to ever be much of a threat to people," he said.

Instead, the species most likely to cause dangerous encounters are the social species that defend colonies. Many of the wasps people encounter around homes - including yellow jackets, paper wasps and hornets - belong to social groups that aggressively defend nests when disturbed.

"They have their whole family that they're essentially protecting."

That distinction between defensive and aggressive behavior matters, Turley added. If you spy a paper wasp alighting upon a flower in your backyard, "They're no more dangerous than anything else."

Another common misconception: that all bees die after stinging.

"That is only true of honey bees," whose barbed stinger becomes lodged in the skin. When a honey bee pulls away, its venom sack and a significant portion of its digestive tract are left behind.

For most other species of bees and wasps, the stinger can slide easily out of the skin, allowing them to either strike again or fly away.

And while many people think primarily of bees when discussing sting allergies, wasps can be especially dangerous because they can sting repeatedly.

But Turley cautioned against sensational fears surrounding so-called "murder hornets" and "killer bees."

"Murder hornets were never here," Turley said, explaining that the invasive hornets detected in the Pacific Northwest were eradicated and never established populations in Pennsylvania.

As for Africanized honey bees - often labeled "killer bees" - Turley said they are largely confined to warmer southern climates.

Ultimately, Turley said understanding the difference between social and solitary insects helps explain why most bees and wasps pose little danger to humans.

"The social side of things," he said, "is really the instances where they can become problematic to us."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.