Bee stings: How dangerous are they?

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A Raleigh County man passed away during the 2024 year due to a sting from a yellow jacket.

The man’s family said they do not understand how it happened.

Bees, wasps, and yellow jackets are all part of the same order of insects. Nearly all of them have stingers and venom; each of them will use these natural defense mechanisms under the right circumstances.

Curtis “Ted” Bolen’s family says he was not near a nest when he was stung on July 3, 2024. Bolen knew better because he, like most of his family, had an allergy to bees.

However, his reactions were usually mild according to his brother, David. His brother said there was usually just some swelling and redness that would fade after a few days.

Bolen’s sister-in-law, Tina Bolen, is a registered nurse. She said she had never seen anything like the reaction he had back on July 3rd.

She said he had no response to multiple EpiPens and his entire was body swelling up. She said doctors at Raleigh General were at a loss as well.

“The doctors there were talking. They had never seen anybody get stung like that and never respond to breathing treatments and epi like that. I mean, it was within a matter of minutes. He walked from the front porch into the bathroom and that was it,” Tina Bolen recalled.

Ted Bolen was put in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit with multi-system organ failure. He passed away on July 5, 2024 without ever having woken up.

This story has many wondering: are members of this order of insects usually this dangerous?

Jakob Goldner, Conservation Entomologist with West Virginia’s Division of Natural Resources, said not typically.

“I would say that the most dangerous ones would be the ones that have the colonies. So, the majority, like I said we have 350 plus species of bees, the majority of those are solitary and we also have at least that many, probably more, wasp species and the majority of those are also solitary,” explained Goldner. “So, those ones are likely to not be much of a threat to you; they don’t have a colony to defend.”

Goldner said colonizing members of this family of insects are more likely to defend their colonies this time of year because there are young insects that they are protecting inside of the colony.

He said if you see wasps or yellow jackets coming after you that you should get away as quickly as possible and be observant of nests near your home.

David Bolen agreed.

“Be aware because of what could happen. It might not happen to everybody, but I don’t know. Maybe it’s a certain bee or the way people respond. I don’t have a clue,” said David Bolen.

Both David and Tina Bolen say they are extra vigilant for nests now and get rid of any that pop up on their property.

If you or a loved one have a known bee allergy, make sure to have an EpiPen on hand and use it as soon as you can after being stung.

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