Honey Bee workers have a modified ovipositor called a stinger with which they can use to defend the hive. Unlike other bees (and unlike the queen), the stinger is barbed. Contrary to popular belief, the bee will not always die soon after stinging; It will usually die after stinging a mammal or other vertebrate. Stining other insects, for example, will not result in death of the bee. The sting and associated venom sac are modified so as to pull free of the body once lodged in a mammal, and the sting apparatus has its own musculature and ganglion which allow it to keep delivering venom once detached. The barbs do not function (and the sting apparatus does not detach) unless the sting is embedded in elastic material. Even so, the barbs do not always "catch", so a bee may occasionally pull the sting free and either fly off unharmed, or sting again.
Drone bees are the male bees of the colony. Since they do not have ovipositors, they also do not have stingers. Drone honeybees do not forage for nectar or pollen. In some species, drones are suspected of playing a contributing role in the temperature regulation of the hive. The primary purpose of a drone bee is to fertilize a new queen. Multiple drones will mate with any given queen in flight, and each drone will die immediately after mating; the process of insemination requires a lethally convulsive effort. Drone honey bees are haploid (having single, unpaired chromosomes) in their genetic structure and are descended only from their mother, the queen. They truly do not have a father. In regions of temperate climate, the drones are generally expelled from the hive before winter and die of cold and starvation, since they are unable to forage or produce honey.
What is AntBlog?
We're hobby Myrmecologists blogging captive colony development and promoting insect conservation... more
Featured Content
What's new?
Purbeck Mason Wasp - Pseudepipona herrichii
The Purbeck Mason Wasp (Pseu...
Apis mellifera, European Honey Bee
Apis mellifera, commonly kno...
Jane Vaughan, Bee Keeper
Jane Vaughan is a keeper of ...
Honey Bee Stinger
Honey Bee workers have a mod...
Royal Jelly
Royal jelly is a secretion b...
Honey Bee Life Cycle
The life of a honey bee colo...