A Dozen Kids Stung By Yellow Jackets at Brookline Day Camp

About a dozen kids were stung by yellow jackets while attending a day camp at Carmalt Elementary School in Brookline, according to WTAE.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson told the TV news station that the children were stung—some more than once—while playing on a field during recess at the Summer Dreamers Academy.

Ambulances and paramedics were called to the school and parents were notified that they could pick up their children early if they wanted, according to the report.

UPDATE (July 3, 10:04 a.m.):

Steve Repasky, a local master beekeeper and director of Burgh Bees, said it was a colony of yellow jackets, not a swarm of honey bees, that attacked the children. Repasky said yellow jackets typically nest underground at this time of year and are highly aggressive, seeming to be even more aggressive this year than in previous years.

Repasky said something as simple as movement near a nest could have triggered the yellow jackets to attack, and that people are typically stung in their yards when they are mowing the grass, running, or working over a nest, often without knowing they are doing so.

"Just movement in the area could be enough to trigger yellow jackets to become very defensive of their nesting site," he said. "They all come out in force and start stinging. Yellow jackets sting multiple times and don’t lose their stingers, so it’s painful and can be dangerous."

Repasky said reaction to stings varies from person to person, but that typical treatment for a yellow jacket sting is to take an antihistamine and use a cold compress.