Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are social insects that sting only under specific circumstances. The primary motivation for a worker honey bee to use its stinger is the defense of its colony, which contains the queen, brood, and stored food. They are generally not aggressive away from the hive, stinging mainly when they feel threatened, such as when stepped on, swatted at, or when a predator approaches their nest. Stinging triggers a biological process directly related to the unique anatomy of the bee’s defense mechanism.
Understanding the Barbed Stinger
The worker honey bee stinger is a complex biological weapon designed to anchor itself firmly into a victim’s tissue. This apparatus is essentially a modified egg-laying organ, or ovipositor, which is why only female worker bees can sting. The stinger shaft is composed of a stylet and two barbed lancets that slide back and forth, effectively sawing their way into the skin.
The stinger’s feature is the presence of several prominent, rearward-facing barbs along the two lancets. These barbs function like tiny harpoons, preventing the stinger from being easily withdrawn once it has penetrated the thick, elastic skin of a mammal, such as a human. The barbs ensure the venom-delivery system remains embedded long enough to dispense the full dose of venom. A venom sac and nerve cells remain attached to the embedded stinger, which continues to pump venom for several minutes after the bee has flown away.
Why Stinging Means Death for the Worker Bee
The barbed design of the honey bee’s stinger leads to autotomy, or self-amputation, when stinging a thick-skinned target. As the bee attempts to pull away, the embedded stinger apparatus is ripped from its abdomen. This detachment pulls along a portion of the bee’s internal structure, including parts of the digestive tract, muscles, and nerves.
This abdominal injury is fatal for the worker bee, which succumbs to internal organ failure and fluid loss within minutes to hours after the sting. This self-destructive consequence typically only occurs when the bee stings a thick-skinned creature like a mammal or bird. If a honey bee stings an insect with a thin exoskeleton, it can often retract its stinger and survive. The sacrifice of an individual worker benefits the entire colony.
Comparing Honey Bee Stings to Wasps and Hornets
The suicide sting of the honey bee sharply contrasts with the stinging mechanism of other Hymenoptera, such as wasps and hornets. Wasps and hornets possess a smooth stinger that lacks the barbs found on the honey bee’s lancets. Their stinger can be easily withdrawn from the skin, meaning they can sting a person multiple times without damage to themselves.
Honey bees sting exclusively for defense of their hive and are not aggressive away from it, while many wasps and hornets can be more predatory or aggressive. This difference in stinger anatomy helps identify the insect and understand its behavior. When a honey bee sting occurs, the stinger is left behind, but a wasp or hornet sting site will not have an embedded stinger.
Immediate Steps After a Sting
If stung by a honey bee, the most important action is to remove the embedded stinger quickly. The venom sac attached continues to contract autonomously, pumping venom into the wound for up to a minute or more. Speed is more important than the exact method of removal for limiting the total amount of venom injected.
The recommended technique is to scrape the stinger out using a firm, straight-edged object like a fingernail, the blunt edge of a knife, or a credit card. Scraping helps lift the barbed apparatus out of the skin without squeezing the attached venom sac. Pinching or pulling the stinger with tweezers is discouraged, as this action can compress the sac and inject a larger dose of venom. After removal, the area should be washed with soap and water.