Many assume all bees sting only once before dying. This common belief holds true for some species, but not all. Understanding the mechanics of a bee sting and the differences between various bee types clarifies this widespread misconception.
How a Bee Stings
A bee’s stinger is a specialized organ, primarily used for defense. When a bee stings, it injects venom into the perceived threat.
Honey bees, for instance, possess a stinger equipped with backward-pointing barbs. These barbs are designed to lodge securely into the skin. The stinger itself consists of a stylus and two barbed lancets that penetrate the skin.
As the honey bee attempts to pull away, the barbed stinger remains embedded. This action causes the stinger, along with portions of the bee’s internal organs, to be torn from its body. The detached sac continues to pump venom.
Which Bees Can Sting Multiple Times?
The ability to sting repeatedly depends on the stinger’s structure. Honey bees have a strongly barbed stinger. This barbed design causes it to lodge and tear away, meaning a honey bee typically stings only once, especially when stinging a mammal.
In contrast, other bee species and related insects possess smooth stingers, which lack these prominent barbs. Bumblebees, for example, have smooth, unbarbed stingers. This allows them to easily retract their stinger after injecting venom, enabling them to sting multiple times without harming themselves. Similarly, female carpenter bees also have smooth stingers, which means they can sting repeatedly if provoked. Wasps, including yellowjackets and hornets, also have smooth stingers, allowing them to sting multiple times.
What Happens After Stinging?
The fate of a bee after stinging is directly tied to its stinger’s anatomy. When a honey bee stings, its barbed stinger remains lodged. As the bee flies away, the stinger, venom sac, and parts of its abdomen are ripped out, leading to a fatal rupture. This serves as a defense mechanism for the honey bee colony, as the detached stinger continues to pump venom and release alarm pheromones, signaling danger to other bees.
Conversely, bees with smooth stingers, such as bumblebees and carpenter bees, do not suffer this consequence. Since their stingers do not get stuck, they can retract them. This allows these insects to survive the stinging event and sting again. The outcome for the individual insect varies based on the design of its stinging apparatus.