Let’s Get to the Point … Stingers

 

Foraging honey bee in alfalfa

When you mention honey bees, the first two things people usually think of are honey and stings. One incredibly sweet, the other … not so much!

It is certainly true that if you see a honey bee working, it is best to leave well enough alone. A foraging bee’s sole focus is to collect as much nectar and pollen as possible. Stinging is a defense mechanism and used only as a last resort to defend herself or her hive.

Honey bees that sting ... and those that don't

The queen bee

Queen honey bee

The queen bee can sting. She has a smooth, slightly curved stinger and she can sting repeatedly. The chances of you getting stung by a queen bee are pretty close to nil. She saves her venom for her queen rivals. Once she has established that she is sole queen of the hive she can no longer sting at all.

If you find a queen bee (again not likely unless you’re looking inside a hive) she’s pretty defenseless. But believe me, there are numerous other bees there to do the job!

The worker bee

Magnified tip of a worker bee stinger

It’s the worker bee that defends the queen and the hive. With a sharp, barbed stinger, she’s well equipped to do the job. Once she stings she will fly away leaving her stinger, poison sack, and muscles from her abdomen to pump the poison in.

The drone

Well, those lazy drones live up to all expectations. They don’t sting. They aren’t even equipped with stingers! They maintain their reputation as the cute, friendly honey bees!

What happens to you after a sting

Removing a honey bee stinger

The first order of business is to remove the stinger. The best plan of action is to scrape the stinger out with a fingernail, credit card, etc. What you don’t want to do is pinch the poison sack and inject more venom. Once the stinger has been removed ice and a topical ‘bug bite’ ointment can be applied. Old time beekeepers have been known to hold a penny (remember those??) on a sting to reduce pain and swelling.

Reactions to bee stings can range from a slight tender spot to full anaphylactic shock which can result in death. Someone who has been stung should be monitored for ANY symptoms that indicate an allergic reaction, and appropriate measures taken.

What happens to the worker bee after a sting

Worker bee after stinging

After stinging, her life is over. She can live up to an hour before dying. As you can imagine, stinging is not something she wants to do, but she will not hesitate to give her life in defense of her hive, or herself.

If you accidentally put your hand down on a honey bee, she will give you a ‘buzzing’ warning. As long as you haven’t squished her too badly, she’s usually happy to just get away!

Benefits of bee venom

Believe or not, there most definitely are benefits to bee venom. If you happen to have arthritis, and just happen to get stung by a honey bee … you might just want to leave that stinger in. Bee venom is known to relieve the symptoms and pain of arthritis and studies are being done on bee venom and MS.

Chances of being stung

The actual chances of being stung by a honey bee are pretty slim. Most stings happen when someone steps on, sits on or accidentally squishes a honey bee. If by chance a foraging bee decides to visit you, it is best to not try to brush her off (sometimes hard in that panic mode!!) but blow or shake her off.

Mistaken identity

You are much more likely to be bit or stung by a wasp, yellow jacket or hornet. These insects are quite aggressive unlike our peace-loving honey bees!

 

Worker honey bee

Wasp