Well I've never been a country mouse so almost all my experience has been with some wasps and bees, and as far as bees not wanting to sting you? I wish to hell the ones that built a hive in my shed or swarmed my yard over the years knew that.
Bees will defend the hive. It's how they roll. So will wasps. If they are shiny and can sting you more than once, they're wasps. Bees lose the stinger when they sting you (It kills the bee.) To my knowledge, wasps don't produce honey, just paper nests with stunned bugs to feed the young when they hatch.
I always set up a shop vac to suck them up if they were in the wrong place--catch enough of them and the hive collapses, stuff a rag in the shop vac, and leave it somewhere for a few weeks--when the wasps are done eating each other-and they will- you can dump out the wasp bits. Use a garbage bag if you aren't sure, or insecticide if you are impatient.
I never had an infestation of honeybees, though, I'd welcome the honey and the wax (for candles) come Fall...
