Do bees die after a human sting? page all

KOMPAS.com – It is said that after being stung, a bees will die right away. But is that really the case?

There are an estimated 20,000 species of bees worldwide and not all of them sting. Of that number, there are at least more than 500 species of stingless bees found, mainly in the tropics. Instead of stinging, they actually bite.

“There is a group of bees called stingless bees (the Meliponini) and miner bees (family Andrenidae) which do have a stinger but are ineffective,” said Allyson Ray, doctoral student in cellular molecular and integrative biosciences at Penn State.

But quoted from Live Science, Monday (30/5/2022) it turns out honeybee are the bees that most often die from stinging humans or other mammals.

Read also: Why Are Bee Stings So Painful?

This is because the anatomy of their stinger is sharp like a hook until it finally gets stuck in the skin.

This allows the stinger to stay in place and continue to pump venom at the victim.

Meanwhile, honey bees tend not to die when they sting insects or other spiders. This is because the stinger is able to penetrate the insect’s relatively thin exoskeleton and can be expelled without causing any damage.

Human skin, on the other hand, is much thicker than the exoskeleton of most insects.

“When a bee flies away after stinging someone, the sting is left behind. But the process makes the intestines pull and release,” explains Ray.

Bees with a hole in its stomach may only survive for a few hours after being stung. The bees will succumb and die from fluid loss, as well as internal organ failure.

Nicholas Naeger, a molecular biologist at Washington State University, who has studied bees for more than two decades, has carried out studies to confirm that honeybees cannot survive after stinging a human-like target.

“I tagged and returned more than 200 bees that stung the target and I never saw any of them alive the next morning. It was absolutely lethal,” he said.

Read also: Viral Video Driver in Central Kalimantan Killed by Wasps, Know the Difference Between Wasps and Bees

Other bees, however, are able to survive after stinging humans because they have different stingers from honey bees.

Another bee is said to have a delicate stinger and therefore can sting many times without dying.

Honeybee actually a shy creature. They will not become aggressive and attack, if not provoked.

Most of the insect stings blamed on bees are actually carried out by wasps, which tend to be more daring and aggressive.

Read also: Get to know Honey Bees, Unique Honey-Producing Animals

Then given the terrible fate that awaits honeybees after stinging humans or other thick-skinned mammals, is there any chance they might realize what is about to happen?

“I don’t think honeybees understand that they understand they will die after being stung. But under the right circumstances, they are very willing to give up their lives to defend the colony,” Naeger said.

When it comes to protecting a colony or ensuring genes can be passed on to the next generation, the instincts that drive that behavior clearly outweigh any concern the bees may have for themselves.

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