In an article about the worst places to get stung by a bee, posted on the community web blog Metafilter, this comment from userid sonascope had the most (har har) venom:

Very few “bee” stings are actually from honeybees, which will sting you if (a) you step on or otherwise mash them or (b) dig into their hives. In fact, you can stick your hands right into a ball of swarming honeybees and they won’t sting you because that’s the opposite of what they’re programmed to do.

Wasps, hornets, and especially yellowjackets will sting the hell out of you for no reason except that they’re just dicks. Yellowjackets, in particular, seem unusually cruel and jerky, as if they’re the ultimate result of a cycle of samsara in which reprehensible people, like SS officers, dictators, and gym teachers, are doomed to come back as vicious, soulless monsters on the wing until they repent. Sadly, they’ve abandoned all hope of progress in reincarnation and just hone their skills and glee at bringing misery.

Spot on.