# Bumble bees can sting more than once? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851 "2013-06-12T22:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/1 "2013-06-12T22:06:38Z")
When I was eight, I was stung by a honey bee. Its guts came out with the stinger. Today a bumble bee flew in the car window and stung the SO three times on the shoulder. They can _do_ that? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/2 "2013-06-12T22:08:37Z")
Yeah, it’s only honeybees that die after stinging. Most other bees and wasps can keep stinging as long as their venom holds out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/3 "2013-06-12T22:12:31Z")
I did not know that. (Except for the wasps, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/4 "2013-06-12T22:18:22Z")
IIRC queen honeybees can also sting repeatedly. (That’s how the old and new queens duke it out if necessary). Drones have no stinger at all. Only worker honeybees that I know of, have the barbed hook that tears their guts out when they sting. It ensures they give their all and their target stays sorry they got in the way of the hive. The other stingers of the bee kingdom are barbless and practice sting and release. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/5 "2013-06-12T22:31:41Z")
Most bees have much smaller colonies than honey bees, and can’t afford to throw workers’ lives away in defense. Also, their colonies have much less honey to make them attractive to raiding mammals so they don’t need a kamikaze strategy as much. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/6 "2013-06-13T10:56:30Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > IIRC queen honeybees can also sting repeatedly. (That’s how the old and new queens duke it out if necessary). Drones have no stinger at all. really? I thought female bees could either sting or lay eggs, but not both. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/7 "2013-06-13T11:45:37Z")
Well bugger me, I never knew there was a difference, I just thought it was a different name for the same thing. We don’t have bumble bees in Aus (apparently some have been introduced in Tassie but they’re a northern hemisphere species) which explains why I’ve never seen one. Our honey bees also bite once, leave the sting in and die. native Wasps aren’t really a problem, mud wasps are largely harmless and Paper wasps only have small nests so you’re not going to run into a swarm of them. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/8 "2013-06-13T12:17:57Z")
[Carpenter bee’s](http://www.loghomecare.com/carpenter_bees.html) and [Bumblebee’s](http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bumble_bee.html) are often mistaken for each other. The male carpenter bee has no stinger, but they are the ones that get in your face and act all territorial on you. Just deal with them with a tennis racket. But beware, the female carpenter bee does have a stinger and will sting you multiple times if you mess with the nest; otherwise they are low key like bumblebees. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/9 "2013-06-13T14:45:10Z")
I’m sure I’ve been stung by a bumblebee and seen the sac-looking thing on the end of the stinger hanging there, which makes me think is a one-time deal. Was I mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/10 "2013-06-13T14:45:34Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > [Carpenter bee’s](http://www.loghomecare.com/carpenter_bees.html) and [Bumblebee’s](http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bumble_bee.html) are often mistaken for each other. The male carpenter bee has no stinger, but they are the ones that get in your face and act all territorial on you. Just deal with them with a tennis racket. But beware, the female carpenter bee does have a stinger and will sting you multiple times if you mess with the nest; otherwise they are low key like bumblebees. I battle those fuckers every year protecting the wood of my deck. And yes, a badminton racket is a very satisfying way of dealing with them. They are plump enough to give a gratifying _sproing_ as you strike them to the ground so you can then stomp on them. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/11 "2013-06-13T19:42:31Z")
Ah, wikipedia… usually Google’s answer for everything. > **[Bee sting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_sting)** > > A bee sting is the wound and pain caused by the stinger of a female bee puncturing skin. Bee stings differ from insect bites, with the venom of stinging insects having considerable chemical variation. The reaction of a person to a bee sting may vary according to the bee species. While bee stinger venom is slightly acidic and causes only mild pain in most people, allergic reactions may occur in people with allergies to venom components. > A honey bee that is away from the hive foraging for nectar o... > [@](#): > > Bees with barbed stingers can often sting other insects without harming themselves. Queen honeybees and bees of many other species, including bumblebees and many solitary bees, have smooth stingers and can sting mammals repeatedly.[1] So Colibri’s point was right. Honeybees have a larger motherload, more likely to attract pesky large mammals. Kamikaze stings, the gift that keeps giving for a while, and even more so if the animal rubs it - are a way to reinforce the learning experience, and a major plus for protecting the hive compared to the cost of losing one worker. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/12 "2013-06-13T23:22:54Z")
I should add that honeybees will sting other insects invading their hive (wasps usually) without sacrificing a worker bee to do it. The barb will not usually catch in an insect body. ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/13 "2013-06-14T01:14:18Z")
It should also be pointed out yellow jackets have barbed stingers that sometimes get stuck if they sting you. (But not all the time)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket#Identification](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket#Identification) Should I mention the first time I found out about this was when my late mom got stung and the rear half of the abdomen of one of them was stuck in her? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/14 "2013-06-14T13:34:21Z")
The pain from Bumblebee stings is fairly low-intensity, although individuals may have different perceptions. I’ve been stung twice while wading through sharp grasses, and only realized it was a sting and not grass poking me when I brushed my calf and found the bumblebee. Fairly tame compared to a yellowjacket or hornet sting. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/15 "2013-06-14T13:56:37Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > really? I thought female bees could either sting or lay eggs, but not both. Not both at once. And I think you’re referring to queens, who are the only fully-female bees in a hive; the workers have atrophied sexual parts. When a hive gets ready to swarm, the workers feed a few brood cells with special food (royal jelly) that causes queens to be made from ordinary eggs. All of the queens hatch about the same time, and battle for supremacy (there can be only one queen per hive). All are stung to death except one. After a onetime mating, she settles down to a lifetime of egg-laying with part of her mate’s body still embedded in hers. Meanwhile, the old queen takes off with half of the hive in a swarm and finds a new home. Smart beekeepers build a new hive next door with flashing lights that say, “No Money Down! Move right in!” Makes the Friday night bar scene look tame, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/16 "2013-06-14T17:24:47Z")
I’ve been stung by a honeybee and a yellow jacket. Give me the honeybee sting any day. Man I hate yellow jackets! ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bumble-bees-can-sting-more-than-once/660851/17 "2013-06-14T17:59:27Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I’ve been stung by a honeybee and a yellow jacket. Give me the honeybee sting any day. Man I hate yellow jackets! Not only do they hurt more, but yellowjackets seem to be a couple of orders of magnitude more likely to randomly sting. Nasty buggers. Not as bad as scolopendra stings (yes, centipedes sting, they don’t bite), but still…