• Question: Why do bees die on their first sting? and wasps dont?

    Asked by britishmcawesome to Antonia, Douglas, Hugh, Matt, Tom on 17 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Matthew Hurley

      Matthew Hurley answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Yeah this is interesting – when bees sting mammals and birds their barbed stinger gets stuck and rips away from their abdomen, leading to their death. Wasps stinger isn’t barbed and so doesn’t get stuck – so they get to keep their stinger to fight another day. Bees don’t lose their stinger though when fighting other insects and so in this case they can use it at will without suffering the consequences.

    • Photo: Hugh Roderick

      Hugh Roderick answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      When a bee stings you it leaves it’s sting in you, but the sting is firmly attached to its gut which gets pulled out when you slap it away after it’s stung you so the bee dies. Wasps don’t leave their sting behind after they sting you so they don’t die.

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