> Tonight I was stung by a bee.
>
> It hurt.
>
> You know, I've always been told that if "you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone." Well, there I was, walking along, minding my own business, and I get stung.
>
> Ticia, Sarya, our mom, and I went to get Ticia's wedding dress fitted. I was walking up the stairs and WHAMMO! a felt this awful stinging sensation that didn't go away and saw about three bees flying around. I WAS leaving them alone. I didn't WANT to get stung. In fact, I didn't even see the buggers until it was too late! The poor bee that stung me is probably DEAD now because it thought I was threatening it. Little ol' me! Hrmph. ANYWAY....it hurt really bad. Luckily Ticia had a first aid kit in her car that had some stuff for bee stings. It helped.
>
> Now I have an owie on that foot. AND I had to perform on a throbbing ancle. I think I got stung twice actually, but it's hard to tell.
>
> Well, that's my sob story for the day. :-)
>
> Mi"bee careful, or you might get stung"a

Yeah, bees are weird that way. You can be walking outside, and if they notice you coming they usually get out of your way and don't bother you a bit, even if you stumble into them. Catch one by surprise, though, and like you said... WHAMMO! The normally pleasant (well, depending on the species) bee turns nasty and what happens next isn't pleasant at all. I hope you're feeling better.

On the other hand, step *anywhere* near their hive and it's a completely different story. We just had the wonderful task of removing a hive from our shed, and there were quite a few angry, confused bees around, ready to go kamikaze to protect their queen. A cloud of bees anywhere is quite alarming, let alone following you. Thankfully, they seem to be more concerned with starting a new hive elsewhere, now.

Now wasps and hornets, they're just plain mean. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they don't die after they sting you, and so can afford to do so just on general principals.

Burger"Heart attack moment: Seeing your small kitten make a mad dash towards a hive, just to see what all the fuss is about"King