I got the following from the website:
http://www.mearns.org.uk/mrssmith/bees/body.htm#sting


"The sting

Bumblebees can sting, at least the queens and workers can, and their
sting is not barbed like that of the honeybee, so they can sting more
than once.

snip

  Bumblebees seem reluctant to sting,  and appear to do so only if
they feel really threatened. However I have heard recently that some
species of  bumblebees found in America (north and south) are more
aggressive than European species. So I feel that it is best to treat
bumblebees with respect as there are some people who have an allergy
to bee venom that can lead to death even after just a single sting if
not treated promptly.."

Vivian


At 8:52 AM +0100 6/28/00, andy sutherland wrote:
>The hives are only between 40 - 150 in size and never once have I
>ever been attacked by them when removing a hive.
>As for Bumble bees stinging many times, I have never heard of this as
>Vivian Donahue suggested, and any more information on this would be
>appreciated.