Discover the Reason Why Bees Die After They Sting You

You made have heard that bees will only sting once, as stinging is a deadly action for them. However, why do bees die after they sting you? Although many people are familiar with the phenomenon, it’s not uncommon to not know why it occurs. Ready to discover the reason? Keep reading below!

Why Do Bees Die After Stinging You?

The reason that bees die after they sting someone is actually quite gruesome.

If you’ve ever seen a bee sting someone and fly away, you’ll notice that they’ve left more than just the stinger behind. Instead, they’ll often leave behind a gooey mess that can be difficult to identify. These are the bee’s insides. When they sting, the stinger gets stuck into the skin of its victim, and the bee has to pull away from it. This often involves their insides being pulled out and left behind too.

As a result, bees will die after stinging due to the trauma. They don’t have blood like we do or like other mammals, but they undergo what is their form of bleeding out. 

Why Do Bees Sting?

Knowing that bees will die after they sting you, you may wonder why they would sting you. Bees will sting out of self-defense. However, it can be confusing to understand why a bee would sting to defend itself if it will, essentially, bleed out anyways. 

As it turns out, scientists believe that bees don’t know the fate that awaits them after stinging you. However, it seems they are cautious enough to know not to sting without reason. Most bees will only sting you if you actively threaten them or their hive. 

Do All Bees Sting?

Not all bees can sting. Furthermore, not every bee will die when it stings you. It all depends on the type of bee and its role in the hive. For example, in many species, male bees don’t have stingers; only females do.

Certain types of bees or species of bees have what is known as a smooth sting. This means that their stinger isn’t left behind at the point of impact, and they can sting again and again without dying. Bees that have smooth stings include bumblebees and queen honey bees. Wasps also have smooth stings. 

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/manfredxy