1. Why do bees sting?

Bees belong to a very ancient species that has seen a great deal of evolution of the earth and of humans. To continue to survive, bees have adapted to numerous challenges posed by its ever-changing environment. One of these adaptations is the evolution of a very organized community lifestyle in a hive. However, this highly populated hive has also proven to be very attractive to predators including insects (such as ants, wasps, and other bees and mammals (such as bears, skunks, badgers, raccoons, possums, anteaters, mice, and humans).


Thus the bees have learned to use their “stinger” in defense, developing a behavior that reacts to certain stimuli that signal the hive is in danger from an intruder. Thus, the honeybee is most likely to attack, particularly in large numbers, in defense of its hive. It is much less likely to sting when it is foraging for food or water, but it will sting in defense, such as if it is swatted, stepped on, or otherwise feels that it is in danger. [Source: USDA/ARS]

2. Why do bees die when they sting?

Only the honeybee dies once it stings. This is because the end of its stinger is barbed, so once the stinger penetrates the skin, the bee cannot pull it back out. Instead, when the bee tries to fly away after stinging, the stinger is ripped from its body, taking with it its abdominal tissue/digestive system and leaving a hole in its place that leads to the bee’s death.

3. Do all bees/wasps die after stinging?

No. The stinger of bumblebees and wasps is not barbed in the same way, so these stinging insects can pull their stingers out with harm to themselves – and can then sting repeatedly.

So if you are stung and the stinger remains in your skin, it generally means that you were stung by a honeybee, not a bumblebee or wasp.

4. On what part of the body is it most painful to be stung?

According to 2014 research conducted by Cornell University graduate student Michael Smith, Honey bee sting pain index by body location), the most painful place on the body on which to be stung is the nostril. The least painful are the skull, middle toe tip, and upper arm. (Perhaps this is one reason medical shots are frequently given in the upper arm?) See more detail below …

 

Bee Stings Bring Different Pain to Different Body Parts

With the goal of mapping the painfulness of stings according to where on the body the sting occurs, Smith’s study rated the painfulness of honeybee stings over 25 body locations – on himself. All the pain ratings collected in the study came from himself, Smith said in the report, “to minimize the number of people stung.”

Although all the stings caused pain, the pain was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being of greatest pain, and the pain relative to an internal standard: the forearm. He also had each site stung three times for comparison, with the finding that the ratings were consistent over the three repetitions.

Of the 25 locations, Smith found the top most painful locations to be stung:

• the nostril (rated 9.0 of 10)
• the upper lip (8.7)
• penis shaft (7.3)
• armpit, cheek, palm, scrotum (all rated 7.0)

The least painful were:

• skull, middle toe tip, upper arm (all of which rated 2.3 of 10)

• buttock, calf (3.7)
• lower back (4.0)

For a complete listing, see Smith’s results: Average Pain Ratings.