Kay wrote:
In article , Miss
Perspicacia Tick writes

I love bumbles - it takes a great deal, I've found, to make them
sting. In fact, I have picked them up, in my cupped hands, to
release them outside when they have stumbled into the house. Had a
buff-tail sit on my arm the other day and it was very strokable
(well they are, they're all velvety!) I have never been stung by one
- obviously, stinging is a *very* last resort as, obviously, it's
suicidal.

Is it obvious? Someone posted here the other day saying, IIRC, that
unlike honey bees, bumbles don't leave their sting behind.

Actually, Kay, it's a common misconception. Honey bees do not leave their
stings, bumbles do. Neither do wasps as I know as one flew up my trowser leg
one summer and then proceeded to sting me about 20 times as it tried to make
its escape... I had to go to A&E for an adrenaline shot (and I'm the most
needle phobic person you're ever likely to come across!).