Does a bee die when it stings you?

Answer 1

I'm not sure, but they sting to defend themselves or their hive. They are part of a hive so bee behavior would seem to indicate that the needs of the many (hive) out-weigh the needs of the few or the one. In a nut shell they give their life so the hive can survive. Ok, this is from a different person. How can a bee be defending it's self when it stings you when it is going to die when it does? It doesn't make any sense. i know alot about stuff. lol. Luvs ya! mwah! xoxo The honey bee can only sting one time and when they sting they die so they can only sting one time

Answer 2

It depends: firstly on the variety of bee, and secondly on the circumstances.

Anything other than a honey bee worker will survive stinging a victim because only honey bee workers have a barbed sting so, say, a bumble bee can withdraw its sting without any trouble.

For a honey bee worker it depends on what it stings and how deeply it manages to penetrate. Stings originally evolved to fight other insects. When a bee stings another insect it just punches a hole in the insect's hard exoskeleton and has no difficulty withdrawing the sting through the hole it has produced. However, along came mammals which, by a cruel twist of evolution, had an elastic skin. If a honey bee stings a mammal the skin closes up around the sting and grips it. If the sting has penetrated far enough for the barbs to be gripped when the bee tries to pull away the sting may be pulled out of the bee's abdomen, together with the venom sac, the muscles that pump the venom and the nerve ganglion controlling the muscles. This is why the sting will continue to inject venom after the bee has gone.

If the bee loses its sting it doesn't die immediately, but will die within a matter of hours because of the severe internal injuries caused by the sting being pulled out.

Answer 3

In the case of a honeybee, yes. The stinger has barbs on it, which leave the stinger there embedded into the victim's skin. When the bee tries to pull away, the stinger stays and in turn rips out bee innards. The bee soon dies.

Answer 4

The fact that a bee dies after it has stung is a partial misconception.

The stinger on a worker honey bee is in fact barbed, meaning that when it lodges into the victim's skin the sting is torn loose from the bee's abdomen, leading to it's death. This however, only happens when the victims skin is thick, like a mammal's.

Answer 5

No. They have a smooth stinger and can withdraw it easily. They can also sting more than once.

Answer 6

Unless you could communicate with bees and ask them there is no way of knowing what bees know about the consequences of stinging people.

Answer 7

There is no way of knowing this, but in all probability, it does, because they are judicious about using their stings.