Honey bees use their stinger as a primary defense for themselves and their colony. Understanding the stinger reveals a complex biological design. Its structure and function are tailored for a singular purpose, which also dictates what happens after a bee delivers its sting.
Anatomy of a Bee Stinger
A honey bee’s stinger is a sophisticated organ, typically 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long. It appears as a slender, dark, needle-like structure. The stinger is composed of three main parts: a central rod called a stylet and two barbed lancets. These lancets feature backward-facing barbs.
At the base of the piercing mechanism, the stinger connects to a venom sac and several associated glands. This sac contains the bee’s venom, a complex mixture of proteins and other compounds. When the bee stings, muscles within the apparatus facilitate the movement of the lancets. These movements work in conjunction to drive the stinger deeper into the skin.
Why the Stinger Stays Behind
The stinger’s design is directly responsible for why it remains embedded after a sting. The backward-facing barbs on the lancets act like tiny anchors. Once the stinger penetrates soft tissue, these barbs firmly lodge themselves, making withdrawal difficult.
When a honey bee attempts to pull away, the barbed stinger, along with the venom sac and parts of the bee’s internal organs, tears free from its body. This abdominal rupture is a consequence of the stinger’s design and its strong embedment. As a result, the worker honey bee, which is the type most commonly encountered, does not survive the stinging event. The detached stinger, however, continues to pump venom into the wound for a short period, often up to a minute, due to residual muscle contractions and nerve cells.
Identifying a Stinger After a Sting
If stung by a honey bee, you will likely find its stinger in your skin. The embedded stinger typically appears as a small, dark speck or black dot at the center of the sting site. Surrounding this dark point, a small, raised red welt often forms.
Attached to the stinger, you might also observe a small, whitish or translucent sac. This is the venom sac, which may still be visibly pulsating. Its contractions indicate continued venom delivery. These features clearly indicate a honey bee sting, as most other stinging insects like wasps have smoother stingers that do not typically remain embedded.