Which sting hurts worse, yellow jacket or wasp?

Which sting hurts worse, yellow jacket or wasp, is tricky because yellow jackets are actually a type of wasp, specifically social wasps in genus Vespula and Dolichovespula, so comparison is between yellow jacket and other wasps like paper wasps or European hornets. Generally, yellow jacket stings are considered to hurt worse than paper wasp stings for most people due to more aggressive behavior and tendency to sting multiple times, with venom that causes hot, burning pain. Paper wasp stings are painful but often described as less intense and with less swelling. Compared to larger wasps like European hornet or bald-faced hornet, which are also wasps, hornet stings hurt worse than yellow jacket stings because hornets are larger and inject more venom, causing more painful, burning sting that lasts longer. On Schmidt pain index, yellow jacket sting is rated around 2, European hornet around 2 to 3, and Asian giant hornet higher. So within wasp family, sting pain increases with size, with larger hornets hurting worse than yellow jackets, and yellow jackets hurting worse than smaller paper wasps. For most common encounters, yellow jacket sting is perceived as worse than paper wasp due to aggression and multiple stings, but hornet sting is worse than yellow jacket. Individual sensitivity varies, location matters, and multiple stings increase pain. Treatment similar, clean, ice, antihistamine.