Why do honeybees die when they sting?

[TVAA]

I’ve seen this question asked over and over again on nature programs, children’s television, etc. I understand why this happens in a mechanical sense: the stinger is barbed, pulling off the back of the bee when it stings.

But what’s the purpose of the honeybee’s death? What’s the teleological explanation? Other stinging insects, like wasps and hornets, have smooth stingers that allow them to sting over and over again. That seems like a useful and powerful ability. Plus, the bee’s stinger doesn’t seem particularly good at remaining in the wound.

So what’s the deal?

[Captain_Amazing]

It stays in the wound better than a smooth stinger, allowing more venom to get in the wound (when the stinger comes off the honeybee, so do the venom sacs).

[TVAA]

Wouldn’t the ability to sting over and over again essentially duplicate this? Plus, it would have the side benefit of not killing the bee, which would seem useful.

[AncientHumanoid]

No cite to offer (sorry), but it seems to me that the communal aspect of honeybee living comes into play here.

The workers don’t reproduce, so their death is fairly trivial. Leaving the stinger (and venom sac) in the victim allows for maximum poison transfer. Thus increasing the odds of survival for the hive.

…off to search for a good cite…

[AncientHumanoid]

From here.

The workers defend the hive with their sting. Rather than developing extensive ovaries, the worker bee develops a barbed stinger and a muscular venom pouch. When it is necessary to kill an intruder, a worker pushes the tip of the stinger into the surface of the intruder. The muscular barbed stings quickly saw their way into the skin of the invader and the venom pouch begins to contract rhythmically to pump venom into the intruder.

Generally the bee pulls herself away, leaving the venom pouch and sting in the invader; the worker soon dies because of the abdominal rupture. Thus stinging for honeybees is an act of self-sacrifice. Unlike many other hymenopterans, honeybees are not likely to sting unless provoked.

Not much more than we already know, but it does offer the self sacrifice angle I was going for.

[Speaker_for_the_Dead]

Yea, workers don’t reproduce, and evolution generally only affects those of a species which reproduce… right?

[TVAA]

But the workers of wasps and hornets don’t reproduce either. Why was it an advantage for bees to develop a highly potent venom-delivery system that kills them, but not for other, similar insects?

Speaker for the Dead: Don’t forget group selection.

[TVAA]

Oh, before I forget: thanks for the cites, everybody.

Did anyone see one that explained why, say, wasps retained the ability to sting multiple times while bees didn’t?

[Finagle]

Uninformed speculation follows:

At least some wasps sting to paralyze their prey, either for food or to lay eggs in the victim. So I assume that being able to sting and live would be a survival factor. So for wasps, you have a need for offensive weaponry so you get multiple stings.

Bees make lots of honey which means that their hives become food sources for potentially large creatures such as bears. So they might have a need for a more potent venom delivery system to ward off larger animals.
Then again, it could just be that ole Ma Nature is a bitch and that both solutions work well enough.

[TVAA]

Hmmm… that makes sense.

Don’t wasps actually store food? (Perhaps they don’t – I know that only the queen survives through the winter.) That seems like a rather odd strategy.

Still, it must work well enough.

[Skwerl]

I have heard that the death of a bee releases some odor which signals the other bees that there may be a problem in the area. Hence, a wasp may sort of bee on his own when fighting some intruder, while a real bee will effectively warn all his comrades through his sacrifice. I’ve been told for that reason you shouldn’t step on bees or kill them if they aren’t attacking you, because it may draw more to you from the smell.