The short answer is yes. Technically speaking, a beehive is made up of the worker bees and the queen, which are females, and the drone bees, which are males. The drone bees do not sting, but they only make up about 15% of the hive population. So it’s safe to say that as far as the beekeeper is concerned, honey bees sting.
There are bees that don’t sting, or others that rarely sting even though they are capable of stinging, such as carpenter bees and bumblebees. Some bees bite instead of sting, although they aren’t honey bees. There are lots of different kinds of bees and other pollinators like wasps, moths, butterflies and birds.
If you work with bees on a regular basis, chances are you will get stung at some point. Beginning beekeepers should consult with with a medical professional to determine if you are allergic to apitoxin–also known as bee venom.
Some people can be so severely allergic to bee venom/stings that they have a reaction called anaphylaxis which can be life threatening. Play it safe and know whether you are allergic or not before working with bees.
Why Do Bees Sting?
Honey bees sting to defend the hive. Bees will sting if they feel threatened. Honey bees are not as aggressive as wasps and hornets, but if they feel threatened, especially if they feel the hive is threatened, they will sting.
Once a honey bee stings, a pheromone is released to alert the bee’s sisters to a possible threat. They will come to the location of the threat in order to defend the hive.
Even someone who isn’t allergic to bee venom can be at risk of a harmful or deadly effects caused by multiple bee stings. It’s another reminder to prevent bee stings from happening.
But what else causes bees to sting? A hive that is stressed may become more aggressive. Beekeepers need to do their part to prevent stress to their bee colonies to the best of their abilities. Causes of stress to honey bees can include lack of food supply and depletion of food stores in the hive. Pests and diseases, adverse weather can cause anyone not to feel their best, the bees are no different. Hive colonies can become aggressive without a queen. If a queen isn’t producing brood, the hive is weakened and can feel threatened.
Predators and robbing are also problems that lead to honey bees getting stressed and potentially reacting aggressively.
Do Bees Die When They Sting?
Again, the answer is yes. Honey bees die when they sting.
Why do bees die when they sting? Honey bees have barbed stingers that get stuck in thicker hides like those of mammals (like us humans). It’s actually quite horrible for the bee, what happens next. When the bee tries to fly away after it stings, the barbs on its stinger stay stuck in our skin and the stinger tears away from its body, removing the internal organs. This article from PBS Newshour explains the gory details.
Pheromones are also released at this time which signal to other bees to come and help defend the hive or the colony.
Since the stingers get stuck, this must mean that they only sting once, right? Actually, honey bees can sting more than once, but this is only when they sting creatures such as other insects with tissues that aren’t as thick as animal hides or human skin. For example, honey bees can sting invading wasps more than once.
Wasps and bumblebees can sting more than once, as their stingers are straight, without any barbs to get caught up.
Can queen bees sting? Queen bees can sting, and they can sting more than once! They have a stinger without barbs. Queens generally use their stingers in battles with other queens over who gets to be in charge in the colony. They don’t sting people very often.
What Happens When a Bee Stings You?
We talked about the release of pheromones, but what are the reactions of bee stings in humans? Reactions to bee stings include immediate pain at the location of the sting, swelling, redness and itching. Each person could have a different reaction to bee stings.
Sometimes reactions are mild, only lasting a few hours, and sometimes the symptoms can last for multiple days in varying levels of severity. Some people and animals can have severe reactions and possibly anaphylaxis.
In this case, the throat and tongue can swell, nausea and fever are also possible. These reactions can be life threatening and emergency medical treatment should be sought out immediately. (A disclaimer here, I am not a medical professional and this information should not be construed as professional medical advice). Here are some sources for information about bee sting reactions and possible first aid.
American Academy of Dermatology
What to Do if a Bee Stings You
You will want to remove the barb. Pull it out with your fingers or scrape it out with your fingernail. You want to do this as quickly as possible to cut down on the amount of venom you will receive.
If you experience swelling of the lips, throat or tongue or have nausea or dizziness, go to the emergency room immediately.
Benadryl and pain relievers are commonly taken to help with the symptoms of a mild reaction.
Some remedies suggested on different websites include:
- vinegar (especially apple cider vinegar)
- ice packs
- baking soda paste
- Honey
- anti-itch cream
Can You Build Up a Tolerance for Bee Sting?
Opinions differ on this. Some research has shown that if a person is exposed to high doses of bee venom in the spring or early in the season, their immune reaction is much lower or less potent for the rest of the season. The process must be renewed each spring. This article suggests that yes, beekeepers probably do develop a tolerance for stings, but they also put themselves at much higher risk for stings because of the close proximity to multiple bees.
Anecdotes online suggest that yes, some people do grow tolerant to stings. The more they get stung, the less time it takes for the swelling, pain and itching to decrease, and the severity of these symptoms seems lesser with each new sting.
This is not the case for everyone. Each individual is different. And, some people who seem to have a mild reaction to bee stings, or any other toxin can develop more severe reactions later in life, or with increased exposure.
My own experience with increased reaction to an allergen came as a dreadful surprise. After nearly twenty years working as a florist and handling flowers every day, I suddenly had a severe reaction to lilies. My throat swelled, I started non-stop coughing, my face felt like it was on fire. For a week, the skin around my nose and mouth felt chapped and extremely dry, and painful to touch, like a severe sunburn. I now carry an Epi-pen, just in case. And, I avoid those particular lilies as much as possible, and wear an n95 mask if I absolutely have to work with them.
How does this relate to bee stings you might ask? Prevention, I’m talking about prevention of exposure in the first place.
How to Prevent Bee Stings for Beekeepers
Wear protective clothing. Especially a veil. Use gloves, a bee suit (bees can sting through socks and pants) and a hood or veil.
Thick gloves can feel cumbersome sometimes and it can be difficult to grip certain smaller items. If you have to remove your gloves, make sure to remove any rings from your fingers.
Actually, it’s a good practice to remove rings anyway when working with your hands. If you get stung on the hand and it swells, if you are wearing a ring, it will have to be cut off in a hurry. Circulation to the fingers can be cut off by a wedding ring, and it happens really fast.
Many people like to use nitrile gloves. They seem easier to use for tasks that heavier gloves aren’t suited for.
Also, make sure to seal the openings of your protective clothing. Bees can crawl into a pant leg or sleeve or under an unsecured veil, and that isn’t a scenario that will end well for you or the bee!
Perform hive inspections during the middle of the day when it’s nice outside. Good weather during working hours means less bees in the hive. Workers gotta work–ya know? While the worker bees are out foraging, there will be less bees in the hive for you to irritate.
Use a smoker and smoke away. Small amounts of smoke in key areas can encourage bees to move away from the places you need to attend to. Puff a little smoke near your body if you need to as well.
You might find this article about using a smoker helpful:
Here’s Why Beekeepers Use Smoke
Stay clear of the hive entrance.
Don’t stand in front of the entrance to work. You’ll want to work from the back or side of the hive as best practice. Remember, bees have actual bouncers at the entrance to the hive. Ne’er do wells that hang out at the entrance are seen as a threat and could cause the bees to go into defensive mode. Here is a great video showing how guard bees keep strangers out of the hive.
Wear light clothing.
It is thought that darker clothing might remind bees of certain animals like bears, raccoons, and skunks who like to invade hives and steal honey. I know the raccoons in my garden, and under my deck, and on my roof (at night!!!) certainly get me angry and stressed out.
Move calmly, slowly, and with purpose.
In other words, avoid harried, quick, anxious movements. Your stress can be detected. Don’t swat at the bees and increase the stress levels of the colony.
Don’t wear or use heavily scented products like perfume, soap, hair products, etc.
Many of the chemicals used in these fragrances can be irritants to bees, humans, and other animals.
Don’t eat bananas just before working in your hives.
Many beekeepers talk about smelling the scent of bananas when bees get upset or defensive. The pheromone that we talked about previously in this article that brings more bees in to defend the hive has the same chemical makeup as a chemical in bananas. It is thought that having the scent of bananas on you is similar to excreting the “defend the hive” pheromone. You don’t want to attract aggressive bees to yourself.
Conclusion
Beekeepers have a much higher chance of getting stung due to much higher proximity and exposure to large concentrations of honey bees than the average person. There are steps beekeepers can take to protect themselves from bee stings, like using protective clothing and not behaving in a way that increases the defensive reactions of bees.
Anyone who works around bees should be aware of their sensitivity levels to bee venom and understand what to do if they are stung.
Using the proper equipment and working with the bees in a way that respects their behavior will reduce the likelihood of frequent stings when working with a healthy hive.