If you've ever been stung by a bee or wasp, you might think the attack came out of nowhere, but bees and wasps will only sting when they feel threatened.⁠ They are social animals, and often their attacks are in response to a particular chemical given off by other members of their hive. Now the science behind these attacks has been explained in a video by The American Chemical Society. ⁠ ⁠ Most of the 20,000 species of wasps are solitary, but because solitary wasps do not sting, most humans are more familiar with social wasps, which live in complex communities. Only female bees and wasps can sting. Males do not have the egg-laying organ that is modified into a stinger on female insects.⁠ ⁠ _____⁠ ⁠ Unlike bees, female wasps can sting a target multiple times because their stinger does not fall off after use. Social wasps and honeybees both use pheromones, secreted or excreted chemicals that trigger a social response in members of the same species.⁠ ⁠ When a wasp stings a human approachin...