Honey bees possess a well-known defense mechanism: the ability to sting. Understanding their stinging behavior provides further insight into their complex biology and how they protect their colonies.
Who Has Stingers?
Only female honey bees possess a stinger, which is a modified ovipositor. Male honey bees, known as drones, do not have stingers and therefore cannot sting.
Worker bees, which are sterile females, are the primary defenders of the hive and possess a barbed stinger. This barbed design is crucial to their defense strategy, as it anchors the stinger in the skin of thick-skinned mammals.
The queen bee has a smoother stinger with smaller barbs, allowing her to sting multiple times. A queen bee rarely stings humans, reserving her weapon primarily for dispatching rival queens.
The Stinging Mechanism
The worker honey bee’s stinger is a sophisticated structure designed for defense. It consists of a sharp stylus and two barbed lancets that slide alternately to penetrate the skin.
When a worker bee stings a mammal, the backward-facing barbs on the lancets cause the stinger to become firmly embedded in the elastic tissue. As the bee attempts to pull away, the barbed stinger, along with the venom sac, associated muscles, and sometimes parts of its abdomen and digestive tract, is torn from its body.
The detached venom sac continues to pump venom into the wound for a period, typically between 30 to 60 seconds, even after the bee has flown away. This mechanism ensures maximum venom delivery for defense.
After a Honey Bee Sting
Stinging is a self-sacrificial defense for the worker honey bee. Because its barbed stinger remains lodged in the victim’s skin, the worker bee suffers a fatal abdominal rupture and dies shortly after stinging. This unique characteristic sets honey bees apart from most other stinging insects, which can sting repeatedly.
For humans who have been stung, prompt action can help minimize the effects. The most important step is to remove the stinger as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of venom injected.
It is recommended to scrape the stinger out with a fingernail or a straight-edged object, such as a credit card, rather than pinching it with tweezers, which can squeeze more venom from the sac into the skin. After removal, washing the sting site with soap and water is advisable to clean the area. Applying a cold compress or ice pack to the sting can help reduce swelling and discomfort.