Stinging risk and sting pain of the ivy bee, Colletes hederae

The ivy bee, Colletes hederae, was first detected in Britain in 2001 and is abundant in many locations. Their ground nesting aggregations can occur in public areas and cause concern about stinging risk. Here we assess that risk. The likelihood of being stung or collided with when in an active aggregation was low, with only 1 sting in 10 h of activity (standing, walking, and “gardening”) by a human subject. Collisions were low at 6 per hour. The...