What is a bee sting?

A bee sting is a wound caused by the stinger from a female bee (honey bee, bumblebee, sweat bee, etc.) being injected into one’s flesh. The stings of most of these species can be quite painful, and are therefore keenly avoided by many people. Bee stings differ from insect bites, and the venom or toxin of stinging insects is quite different.

What kind of bee has a stinger?

Honey bee stings. Drone bees, the males, are larger and do not have stingers. The female bees ( worker bees and queens) are the only ones that can sting, and their stinger is a modified ovipositor. The queen bee has a barbed but smoother stinger and can, if need be, sting skin-bearing creatures multiple times,…

How do honey bee stings work?

The stings of honey bees are barbed and therefore embed themselves into the sting site, and the sting apparatus has its own musculature and ganglion which keep delivering venom even after detachment. The gland which produces the alarm pheromone is also associated with the sting apparatus.

Do queen bees have stings?

The female bees ( worker bees and queens) are the only ones that can sting, and their stinger is a modified ovipositor. The queen bee has a barbed but smoother stinger and can, if need be, sting skin-bearing creatures multiple times, but the queen does not leave the hive under normal conditions.