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The sting of a bee is an organ necessary to protect the hive by insects, it is used only in case of danger. You can examine the structure of a bee sting in detail with a strong increase under a microscope. It is located at the tip of the abdomen.
What does a bee sting look like
The stinging organ has a complex structure. The sting of a bee can be examined in detail only with a strong magnification under a microscope: it looks like a sharp long needle, thinning from base to tip. Notches are clearly visible on the sides, with sharp ends directed towards the base. Worker bees have only 10 of them, and the uterus has 4. In fact, the sting is an ovipositor that has changed its purpose. Drones don’t have it at all.
It consists of several elements:
- three chitinous parts with plates;
- the middle part is a sled, widened in front and narrowed in the back;
- stylet – consists of two lancets-needles, located in the cavity of the sled from below: when bitten, the stylet breaks and releases the needles.
Each part of the body has its own purpose. With stilettos, the insect pierces the skin. Inside the sled, in the thickened part, there is a poisonous gland, which, in turn, consists of a filamentous lobe and a reservoir. A poisonous liquid accumulates in the bladder. Nearby are glands that produce lubrication for the stylet.
In the photo under a microscope, you can see the sting of a bee and a foreign body, a lancet, extracted from the body of a bitten person:
Where is the sting of a bee
The body of an insect is divided by a petiole – a waist – into a breast and abdomen. The upper and lower parts into a single organism are connected by a metasome – a thin stalk through which the nerve endings pass. It is at the tip of the abdomen that the bee has a sting. Its tip is clearly visible even without strong magnification. When the bee is calm, the organ is visually invisible.
Does a bee leave a sting when it stings
After a bite, the organ gets stuck in the wound of an animal or person. After piercing the skin, the stylet is immersed in the soft layer. Instinctively, the bee tries to pull the stylets out of the wound, but the notches get stuck in the tissues. The sting comes off the abdomen with part of the internal organs. A wound forms on the body of the insect, after which it dies. A bee survives a fight with wasps and beetles. Notches of stylets do not get stuck in chitinous covers.
How a bee stings
In a calm state, when nothing threatens the insect, the organ is hidden in a special apparatus (bag) at the end of the abdomen. During a bite, the stinger is pushed out of the sheath. The musculature actuates the plates, causing the stilettos to slide over the sled.
In preparation for the attack, the bee lowers the sting down. The abdomen strongly bends forward, and the case rises. At this point, the stinging organ is already partially exposed. During the blow, the stylets move sharply forward, then the abdominal musculature absorbs them back.
The bee pierces the surface of the animal’s skin with a stinger. After a puncture, poison is injected into the wound. The poisonous substance begins to flow down the sled.
The main component of bee venom is apitoxin: it is he who causes burning. The substance that enters the body causes pain. In addition, it can cause allergic reactions. Stung insects and small animals (mice) die from one or more poisonous injections. A single bee sting is good for most people. A repeatedly stung person receives too much poison. Death can occur after the accumulation of 0,2 g of apitoxin in the body. Especially dangerous are bites in the neck, eyes, lips.
The poisonous liquid has a yellowish tint. Once in the blood, the poison quickly spreads throughout the body. The reaction to a bee sting is individual for all people. In the most severe cases, a poisonous substance causes a stung person to:
- shortness of breath;
- nausea;
- dizziness;
- loss of consciousness;
- sharp jumps in blood pressure;
- swelling of the respiratory organs;
- reddening of part of the tissues surrounding the puncture site of the skin;
- painful sensations;
- asphyxia.
What does a bee sting look like after a sting
After a bite, the severed organ begins to act autonomously. The sting continues to contract, while squeezing new doses of poison into the wound. Pulsating, it penetrates even deeper under the skin. The sting of the bee is immersed in the tissues with its entire length, and the entire supply of poison, which is in the sacs at its base, during contractions flows down the stylets into the formed channel, then enters the blood. The bite area turns red very quickly. After a while, only a black dot remains visible on the surface.
The photo shows the sting of a bee, torn out along with part of the body of an insect, in human skin. Only the upper part of the organ is visible on the surface: its remains must be removed as quickly as possible. The bitten place looks swollen, edema quickly forms around the wound. A black dot is clearly visible in the middle.
How to pull out a stinger after a bite
The danger is that the damaged area quickly swells and turns red, and an allergic reaction may begin in a bitten person. The sting that the bee leaves in the skin continues to supply poison to the wound. It must be removed, but it cannot be done with nails, a needle, scissors, and under sterile conditions, pull it out with tweezers, swinging from side to side. When removing, you need to make sure that the yellow sac with poison comes out at the end of the needle. If a piece of the organ broke off and remained under the skin, you will have to seek help from a surgeon.
After removing the bee sting, the bite site must be treated with an antiseptic: alcohol, brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide and ice. Experienced beekeepers in the absence of allergies advise a solution of honey to relieve pain: dilute a teaspoon in a glass of water and drink it. An antihistamine should be taken to neutralize the allergen.
Conclusion
The sting of a bee is necessary for an insect, first of all, for protection. Therefore, when confronted with a bee, it is important not to provoke it with active actions (especially not to wave your arms), but to try to calmly move to a safe place. The bite is unpleasant, but in the absence of allergies it is not dangerous: it is important to completely remove the sting from under the skin.