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Many people have a fear of bees because they worry about getting stung. However, it's important to understand that bees are more interested in their own activities, like collecting pollen and nectar, than in stinging humans. In fact, most bees will only sting if they feel seriously threatened, and some species don't sting at all.

Male bumblebees do not have a sting. You can easily identify them in some species by their pale yellow facial hair and little yellow moustaches. Males are also less hurried than females when foraging and have thin hairy legs. Females, on the other hand, have a wide shiny, smooth, flattened corbicula on their back legs and are often carrying pollen. 

Bumblebees are generally not aggressive creatures and it takes a lot to provoke them. They will only sting if their nest is threatened or if you squeeze them, sit on them, or stand on them. If they feel threatened, they will raise one of their middle legs in the air to 'tell' you to back off. If you move closer and they are still unhappy, they will lift another leg, and if you persist, they may lift two legs vertically and turn onto their back to show you their sting. This behavior is called 'posturing' but rarely results in an actual sting. If bumblebees do sting, their sting does not have a barb like honeybees, so they do not die afterwards.

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