Fear of Stinging Insects

As I'm sure plenty of people know, I'm not a particularly big fan of the various organisms that share this world with me, and bugs are definitely something I'm not a big fan of.

But man, do I hate stinging insects.

Perhaps a little back-story would do as my best explanation as to why these abominations freak me out more than the average person.

Back in elementary school, like most kids, I rode the bus. Now, buses aren't exactly vacuum-sealed capsules, so now and then bugs can get in. Yes, including bugs like Wasps.

I spot this odd creature flying around, and ask the person sitting next to me what it is. They explain to me that it's a bug that can sting you, but they only do it if you make them angry. In my youth, I relished a challenge. I immediately proceeded to start trash-talking this little guy, and soon enough, I made him mad; he swooped down towards me, and all I could do was quickly grab my backpack and put it between me and this exotic fighter jet. I spent the next 15 minutes of the bus ride holding completely still in fear as the wasp crawled around on my back pack, and even inches away from my face at several points, until we finally got to the school, the bus driver shooed the wasp off of me and killed it with his hat.

That fear transferred itself to pretty much any kind of insect capable of such an act, be it bees, yellow jackets, you name it. My fear only intensified throughout my life, such as in middle school when a yellow jacket crawled down my shirt and stung me in the back of the neck, and I discovered the not-so-fun way that when a yellow jacket stings you, it releases a chemical that attracts other resident yellow jackets to come out of hiding like a buzzing cavalry and try to sting whatever's been marked.

While I've come to conquer my fear enough to at least be able to sit still when one's near me, I still get that nervous feeling whenever I hear that dreadful low buzz.