Almost all allergies to insect venom are delivered via a stinger. Spiders, which are not actually insects, are the exception. Spiders deliver their venom by biting. Stinging insects are most active in the summer and early fall, and are most dangerous near their nests. The most likely culprits in an insect sting are members of the hymenoptera family, which includes:

• Honeybees. Roundish, fuzzy bodies with dark brown coloring and yellow markings. Honeybees are the most common of stinging insects. They are found near clover and around flowers. Honeybees leave a barbed stinger inside their victims.
  
  
• Yellow jackets. Black bodies with yellow markings and more slim than honeybees. Yellow jackets are the most aggressive of stinging insects and sting repeatedly. They are found around garbage cans and anywhere foods are exposed, especially sugary foods.
  
  
• Paper wasps. Black, brown or red bodies with yellow markings, slender, hairless and elongated.  Wasps build nests in the caves of buildings and under rafters. They sting repeatedly.
  
  
• Hornets. Larger than yellow jackets, with short black or brown bodies and white, orange or yellow markings. They are found in trees and bushes and sting repeatedly.
  
  
• Fire ants. Reddish brown or black bodies. They are found in the southeastern United States. Fire ants use their mandibles to bite into the skin, which anchors them. Then, they use a hind stinger to produce multiple stings in a circular pattern that burn fiercely.

Spiders are arachnids, not insects, and very few types of spiders will bite a human. Though their venom is highly potent, only a small amount is injected into a person. However, the body may overreact to the actual damage done (which is usually very minor), causing allergy-like symptoms. Spiders of concern include:

• Black widow spiders. Only the bite of females is poisonous. They are usually about 2 inches across, long-legged, shiny and coal black. They also have an orange, red or yellow shape on their underside that usually resembles an hourglass. They can be found throughout the United States.
  
  
• Brown recluse spiders. Also known as fiddle spiders, they are a half-inch long with a dark, violin-shaped mark on the combination head and middle section (cephalothorax). Brown recluse spiders are most often found in the south-central United States. They live in hot, dry undisturbed areas such as wood or rock piles.
  
  
• Hobo spiders. A light-brown spider with a yellowish green tint on its abdomen. Roughly a half-inch long, it lives in funnel webs spun in wood, rock or debris piles. They can be found in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and British Columbia.