Is it true bees die after they sting you? if so why?

Answer 1

The sting of most bees, along with the poison sac, is pulled out of the bee's body after the bee stings you. Interestingly, so I read, bees can sting other insects and pull their stinger out safely without suffering such injury. It is only when the barbed stinger goes through the tough (and relatively thick) human skin that the barb gets caught and the bee is injured in this manner.

This is different from other stinging insects where they can sting repeatedly because their stingers are not barbed.

Answer 2

I always understood it was not all bees but yes honey bees in particular, this is the case because part of their body gets ripped off attached to the sting that is left in the skin.

Queen bees can sting you as many times as they like, I was told.

If you mean why in the whole scheme of nature does something die after stinging another animal, then, I expect this would be very subjective. At least it means they are less likely to sting, unlike wasps that seem to have little or no function in life.

Answer 3

It depends on the species.

Solitary bees (bees that don't live in colonies with lots of other bees) are capable of repeat stinging. Their stingers are unbarbed and do not stick in their victims.

Bees that form small colonies are likewise unbarbed. You only get the barbed stingers that cause the poison sack to pull out in species that form very large colonies. You see, the large colonies aren't built around individuals. If you're part of a colony with only seven members, you can't afford to die, you've just seriously weakened your family! If your colony is of a species where hundreds of members are typical, well, your life as an individual isn't that important.

The barbs do more damage to the target organism, cause more pain, and keep the poison gland attached longer, causing yet more pain and discomfort. All these things help the bees of large colonies, encouraging animals not to bother the colony even more. They would do the same for small colony species, but in those cases, the bees cannot afford to kill their members causing more damage to their targets.

Answer 4

this and several answers for you ..

the sting has a barbs in it, and remains attached to the abdomen of the bee, and it has to tear its abdomen apart to free itself. I am not sure if this is true is a bee stings something small, and whether it is only big things, like humans, that cause it such agony.

Answer 5

I read only bumble bees die after stinging you.

Answer 6

One thing I know that bees don't die unless you crush them, cause when i'm in 6 years old, I got sting by the bee... then they'll fly away... I was so mad at it...

Answer 7

Yes, because the heart of a bee is in its thorax, and when it stings you, the stinger takes the thorax with, and the bee dies without a heart.

Answer 8

very true indeed. check this out-