FACTS

1. Insect-related deaths are associated with three types of jobs: farming, construction, and landscaping.  
2. About 80 percent of those who die of bee, wasp or hornet stings are men.
3. If a bee does sting someone, others should stay with the victim to make sure an allergic reaction doesn’t occur. The sting site should be washed with water and soap and the stinger should be removed — but a fingernail or gauze should be used, rather than squeezing or using tweezers
4. The CDC’s site tips for workers to avoid stings include wearing light-colored clothing and not using banana-scented products.
5. Numbers of death may be underreported because of mistaken diagnoses as heart attacks or sunstrokes or may be attributed to other causes. Most individuals only experience minor swelling and pain after being stung, but many individuals can experience other symptoms after a sting. Insect stings can result in any of the following:
   

• • Pain
  • Redness
    
  • Swelling 
  • Flushing
    
  • Hives
  • Anaphylaxis.
    

STATS

• Africanized honeybees are typically much more defensive than other varieties of honeybees, and react to disturbances faster than European honeybees. They can chase a person a quarter of a mile (400 m); they have killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving 10 times more stings than from European honeybees.
• They are undeniably the most aggressive honeybees in the world and are responsible for at least 1,000 deaths in the United States alone.
• In a typical year, nearly 100 American deaths are caused by bee stings. In fact, this number probably represents an underestimate, since some bee sting deaths are erroneously attributed to heart attacks, sun stroke and other causes.
• Recent studies report 1,109 deaths from bee, hornet and wasp stings. And if you’ve had a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting, there is a 30-60% chance you will experience full-blown anaphylaxis the next time you are stung.