I once heard that the big, burly bumblebees outside my window can't sting because they don't have stingers. But after looking into the subject, I discovered that's not true.

Queens and female worker bees can and will sting while defending their hive from an attack, usually by humans or skunks. Unlike honey bees, they can sting repeatedly and don't lose their stingers after they sting. Only drones, or male bumblebees, do not have stingers.

There are more than 250 species of bumblebees around the world. There are 50 species known to live in North America. Most will build nests near the ground, usually in abandoned mice nests or holes in the ground.

Bumblebees' bodies are covered with fine, thick hair striped in black and yellow. The queen bumblebee can range from five-eighths of an inch to 1 inch long. Drones and workers are smaller.

Considering all the good things bumblebees accomplish by pollinating plants for food production, the best advice is to leave them alone.

You can make a friendly bumblebee with instructions I found at www.familycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/pom—pom—bumble—bee.shtml on the Web.

<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> 1 empty KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce bottle<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> Yellow and black, 1-inch pom-poms, about 50 of each color<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> 2 15-millimeter wiggle eyes<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> 1 black chenille stem<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> 1 8-by-11-inch sheet of black and a scrap of yellow craft foam<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> Scissors<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> Fast-grab tacky glue<font face="ZapfDingbats">4</font> Crepe or tissue paper for bow (optional).Remove the stickers and clean the bottle inside and out. Let dry. Replace the lid.Lay the bottle on its back and glue two rows of yellow pom-poms at the bottom of the bottle on the front and sides. Repeat with two rows of black pom-poms above, then two more rows of yellow pom-poms. Finish by gluing black pom-poms to the rest of the front and sides of the bottle, including the top.Cut wings out of black craft foam. If you need a pattern, see the Web site. Gently turn the bottle facedown on your work surface and glue the wings to the bottle where it starts to narrow.Repeat gluing the pom-poms on the back, covering the center of the wings in the same color pattern as the front.Stand the bottle upright. Cut the stem into two pieces. Bend a half inch of the ends down and glue the straight ends to the top of the bee for antennae. Glue on the eyes and cut a small triangle out of yellow foam and glue under the eyes for a nose.Twist a small piece of tissue paper into a bow and glue to the top row of yellow pom-poms.