When the bee stings

Not very long. They usually lose not only the stinger but part of their "entrails" when they sting someone. I would guess they might live 15 to 30 minutes at the most after stinging.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a bee expert. I'm going by being stung any number of times as a kid.

Just so you know, that 'myth' about a dead bee being able to sting you? I think it's not a myth. Last year I picked up what I thought was a bit of carpet lint and it bit me! Well, it didn't bite. It stung me. It was a very pale honey bee. Looked way dead and faded to me, and the sting was very weak, but its little backend still worked somehow.

trocadero said:

Thanks Alleycat. They can still fly during that time, right? Losing their stinger doesn't make them unable to fly, does it?

Thanks

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Yes, they can still fly but I don't think they really care to. I think they just fly off a little ways and land on the ground. If they haven't already been knocked off by the person they've stung, that is.

Perks said:

Just so you know, that 'myth' about a dead bee being able to sting you? I think it's not a myth. Last year I picked up what I thought was a bit of carpet lint and it bit me! Well, it didn't bite. It stung me. It was a very pale honey bee. Looked way dead and faded to me, and the sting was very weak, but its little backend still worked somehow.

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It's happened to me, too. I was outside barefoot and stepped on one and got stung. You don't get the full dose because the bee can't contract its muscles to squeeze it out, but it still hurts. Walter Brennan wasn't just blowing smoke in "To Have and Have Not".

All-around sharp honeybee experiences.

Yep, depending on the extent of her evisceration, she may try to fly back to her hive. Evidence from exoskeletal husks around the hive entrance after battles is that some make it home.

Many, many stings from hosing down the honey extraction room has taught me that stingers of drowned bees are still potent. Use a hive tool instead of fingers to probe into crevices, and be careful where you lean or sit.

I think (but don't quote me) it is also possible to sting w/o the bee destroying itself. But that might be an issue of the stinger not going in all the way, or coming out too easily or something (like when bees sting each other...). The honey bee stinger is very barbed though, and will cause damage when the bee tries to fly off again. (unlike the yellow jacket, whose stinger is less barbed - oh, and I think the queen might not have barbs...I guess it wouldn't be good for the queen to die). And when we're talking about "entrails" coming out, I think it's more like an entire portion of the back end of the bee is lost, including the stinger, venom sacks, and other glands.

You know, when you think about it, that's a really stupid self-defense mechanism. I peeench you, then my ass falls off.

Perks said:

You know, when you think about it, that's a really stupid self-defense mechanism. I peeench you, then my ass falls off.

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Yeah, it'd be much better if they could develop weapons. Like atomic bombs, that could annihilate themselves, their enemies, and the rest of the planet.

Or maybe some teeth. Claws could be good, too...

Wasps and hornets, by the way, don't lose their stingers when they sting once. And to the allergic, their venom can be fully as lethal as a bee's. Nasty ants, like fire ants, can also be bad. All these insects are closely related.

caw

abctriplets said:

I think (but don't quote me) it is also possible to sting w/o the bee destroying itself. But that might be an issue of the stinger not going in all the way, or coming out too easily or something (like when bees sting each other).

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You're quite right about what beekeepers call "warning stings." For instance, lots of us with experience work without gloves. When you've been working the hive too long, they'll often let you know by dragging stingers across exposed skin. You get a little "goodbye" half sting without full penetration. Most of us button up that hive then and go elsewhere.

You're also right that stinging other bees and/or wasps don't always trap the stinger.

It's a mystery to most why workers have evolved to die after stings into skin, although some speculate that the death releases the pheromone drawing more bees to the hive invader.

Off topic, but modern research is showing drones aren't as useless as old stories go. Their bigger, stronger wings are handy for hive cooling and ventilation in summer and friction from their bodies generate needed heat in winter. In addition, drones either sacrifice themselves to bee-eaters (such as skunks) or are driven from the hives in numbers to satisfy such attacks.

Are the drones very good fighters?

Bees' stingers were evolved to fight off invading bees from other hives, not to attack humans or other large animals. They can sting other bees repeatedly and not be harmed because bees have soft bodies that do not trap the stinger.

hammerklavier said:

Are the drones very good fighters?

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No. It seems they're much like ranks of infantry from time immemorial: cannon foder sacrificed for the good of the higher hierarchy.

Drones don't fight, they don't even have stingers. They have only one function - to impregnante the queen. Once that is done, they die.

Thanks. Now I have that song in my head.

Kathie Freeman said:

They have only one function - to impregnante the queen. Once that is done, they die.

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As I said above, that's a long-held myth about drones that bee researchers are finding isn't true. That's okay. Beekeepers have always had to work against certain beliefs people want to hold dear.

But this one about drones never did make sense. Why are there so many of them in each hive? Just to raise one which can fly highest to mate with the queen? Then why keep the rest around afterward? They don't, in fact, die. They are fed and cared for by the workers.

Whether or not the truth of the matter sits well with some, a drone isn't the useless thing mythhuggers wish they would remain.

For one thing, we now know they use their larger wings to help cool the hive in hot weather. For another, their larger bodies in constant motion help create friction to warm the hive-ball in winter.

The theory of sacrifice to bee-eaters is gaining more and more credibility as researchers delve into bee mysteries.

Chase said:

Why are there so many of them in each hive? Just to raise one which can fly highest to mate with the queen?

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For the same reason a human male emits thousands of sperm every time he ejaculates when only one is need to fertilize the ovum. The fastest and strongest wins which keeps the hive strong and healthy.

Kathie Freeman said:

The fastest and strongest wins which keeps the hive strong and healthy.

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That is a pretty good answer to why the hive raises a slew of drones. For hundreds of years, it was the only answer, but only partially addresses the reasons that so many drones are cared for after a queen's mating, and especially after swarming to a new location with a newly mated queen.

Sorry if I hit a nerve, but I'm just sharing some new information. Recently, bee studies have shifted into overdrive due to Colony Collapse Disorder.

It's true I've only been a beekeeper since retiring from teaching a decade ago, but I learned from ace beekeepers in Montana and North Dakota and presently do part-time work in Oregon and California for the president of the Oregon Beekeepers Association, a working pollinator and honey producer.

Only the beekeepers willing to reassess and change some long-held beliefs are surviving CCD. Only one of these new tools from research is understanding the long-confused role of drones.