Honey bees that produce raw wildflower honey work in their hive at an outdoor farmer's market in Washington in 2013. (Paul J. Richards/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
As a professional beekeeper and former Montgomery County high school teacher, I was upset by recent reporting regarding “bees” in The Post.
The culprits in the incident described in the Oct. 13 Local Digest item "Bees sting dozens at Montgomery school" were undoubtedly yellow jackets or hornets. It is terrible that so many students were stung, but the public deserved a better assessment of which stinging insects were responsible. Please don't give bees a bad rap because it makes a better headline than "yellow jackets." Bees are typically very docile and will attack only if their queen is threatened.
Misleading headlines and reports are detrimental to beekeepers and to the future of agriculture. Incorrect reports can make the public believe that bees are dangerous, when they are not.
Many people tend to call anything that stings a “bee,” but bees and yellow jackets are like apples and oranges: They ain’t the same.
Katie McDermott, Washington