Not all bees possess venom or sting. The ability to sting and produce venom varies significantly across different bee types, influenced by their biology, sex, and evolutionary adaptations. Understanding these differences helps to clarify the diverse world of bees.
Understanding Bee Stingers and Venom
The stinger in many bees is a modified ovipositor, an organ primarily used by insects for laying eggs. This explains why only female bees possess a stinger. Over time, this egg-laying tool adapted into a defensive weapon capable of delivering venom, primarily for defense against predators or threats to the bee’s individual survival or the colony’s security.
Bee venom, or apitoxin, is a complex mixture of biologically active molecules. While 88% water, its dry components include proteins, peptides, and enzymes. Key components like melittin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) contribute to the pain and physiological responses after a sting. The venom also contains amines such as histamine and dopamine, along with sugars, phospholipids, and amino acids.
The Stinging Bees
Female bees, including worker and queen bees, are generally the ones equipped with stingers and venom. They use this apparatus for defense against perceived threats. Honey bees and bumblebees are among the most recognized stinging bees.
Worker honey bees have a distinctive barbed stinger. When stinging a mammal with thick skin, these barbs cause the stinger, along with part of the bee’s abdomen and digestive tract, to become lodged, leading to the bee’s death. In contrast, queen honey bees and other stinging bees, like bumblebees, possess smoother stingers, allowing them to sting multiple times without dying.
Bees Without a Traditional Sting
Not all bees can sting. Male bees, known as drones, lack stingers entirely. As the stinger is a modified egg-laying organ, and males do not lay eggs, drones cannot inject venom and are largely defenseless against threats.
Stingless bees (tribe Meliponini), primarily found in tropical regions, have highly reduced, non-functional stingers. Instead of stinging, they employ alternative defense strategies, such as biting with strong mandibles. Some species also release irritating, caustic substances or sticky resins onto intruders, providing a chemical defense to deter attackers.
Additionally, many solitary bee species, despite possessing stingers, are generally docile and rarely sting unless directly provoked or accidentally harmed. Their sting is typically less painful than that of social bees like honey bees.