Do Bee Survive Stings?

[Cassandra Wye]

Hi

I am a storyteller doing some storytelling about Bees for Bristol Botanic Gardens this summer!
I would like to get my Bee facts right!
In the folktale a little Bee stings a King and the Bees survive. I thought Bees died after stinging someone?
Can Bees survive stinging a human - and if so - which Bees do so?

Many thanks in advance for your Bee expertise
Best Wishes
Cassandra
Storyteller
www.storiesinmotion.co.uk

[AdamD]

Worker bees have a barbed sting and die after using the sting - in fact it's a double-barbed sting that works it's way in for up to a minute even if the attached bee is - err detatched. So, yes worker bees - which are female but essentially sterile - do die. Queen bees have a sting. It is not barbed so it can be used again. They will only use it for stinging another queen. The could be fighting or it could be where a queen stings another whilst it is still in it's 'queencell' before it is fully developed and had time to emerge from the queencell.
The males - or drones - do not have a sting at all. When the workers don't feel they need them in the hive any more - as autumn approaches for example - the drones are not fed and then chucked out to die! Nature is not sentimental!

I hope this helps.

[DianeBees]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swarm ... Production

Estimates of the numbers of bees used in the production ranged between 15 million and 22 million, including 800,000 bees with their stingers removed to enable the cast to work safely with them. A total of 100 people were employed in the production to care for and transport the bees during the film shoot. Only one cast member, Olivia de Havilland, was stung during the production.[8]


I've no idea how you'd do that - or how on so many bees!