The stinger of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) serves as a last-ditch defense mechanism, designed to penetrate skin and release venom—typically leading to the demise of the worker bee.
Recent studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have provided new insights into the effectiveness of this defense strategy.
“Capturing footage of them in action was a groundbreaking achievement, made possible by advancements in modern camera technology,” stated Fiorella Ramirez Esquivel, the lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie University in Australia.
Researchers captured how the stinger of a western honey bee drives into a surface while simultaneously delivering venom.
Due to the rapid nature of bee stings, Ramirez Esquivel and her team utilized cameras that can record hundreds of frames per second. The semi-translucent nature of the venom sac and stinger enabled them to employ intense lighting to highlight the intricate structures within.
The research involved live honey bees, whose stingers were removed and the bees subsequently killed. Since the stinger remains functional for only about two minutes after detachment from the bee, Ramirez Esquivel noted the necessity for speed.
“I have to extract the stinger from the bee and then insert it into this artificial [skin substitute], requiring precision within a four-millimeter gap,” she explained to CBC News from Sydney.
At 100 frames per second, two distinct components can be observed in the chamber between the long stinger and the large venom sac. These are valves that interact in a unique manner. (Ramirez Esquivel et al. 2026)
Double-piston mechanism
Findings reveal that two specialized valves perform dual functions: driving the barbed stinger deeper while continuously injecting venom from the sac into the target.
The study refers to this as a “double piston design,” but this system is far more intricate than a conventional car engine, where a single piston moves vertically within a cylinder.
“Now envision having two of them, which must move past one another as they operate,” Ramirez Esquivel elaborated. “As they reverse direction, they must compress to allow fluid to flow around them.”
This complex interaction was modeled using 3D printing to enhance understanding of how the valves operate in tandem—facilitating continuous venom flow while simultaneously driving the stinger deeper.
Juliana Rangel, an apiculture professor at Texas A&M University who was not part of the study, expressed her fascination with the videos as they offer insights beyond the typical scanning electron microscope images and diagrams she is accustomed to seeing.
“We have long been aware of the stinger and its components due to our history of experiencing stings for thousands of years,” Rangel remarked. “However, we didn’t truly comprehend how the venom continues to be pumped long after the stinger has been deployed.”
According to the study, the stinger’s twitches and small movements can persist for up to 15 minutes.
Honey bees are social insects, and experts assert that their stinging behavior serves multiple purposes. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)
Kill or be killed
The act of leaving part of the body behind as a defensive strategy is known as autotomy, though this behavior is not universal among bees. The western honey bee is a social insect, and its colony operates as a “superorganism” that worker bees strive to defend. This extreme defense mechanism must deliver impacts greater than what one tiny bee can achieve.
“This stinging apparatus and the evolution of the stinger… serves as a form of insurance,” Rangel conveyed to CBC News from College Station, Texas. “The life sacrificed was for a noble cause: the protection of the larger colony.”
Rangel noted that nearly all other stinging bees lack barbs that enable the stinger to remain lodged in a target, as these species, unlike female worker honey bees, must survive to reproduce. Female worker honey bees are sterile and do not bear young.
Additionally, honey bee stingers emit pheromones, which are chemical signals that summon other bees to assist in confronting a threat.
While this defense mechanism may struggle against tougher skin or fur, Rangel suggests that barbs and persistent penetration likely enhance the likelihood of deterring an aggressor.
An excerpt illustrating the stinger from The Anatomy of the Honey Bee by Robert E. Snodgrass, published in 1910. (Cornell University Library/The Internet Archive)
Nature as a source of inspiration
Although originally from Europe, western honey bees now inhabit various regions worldwide and have been a subject of study for centuries.
“Our connection with them extends back about 9,000 years,” remarked Lauren Ponisio, an associate professor and ecologist at the University of Oregon. “Cave art depicts people harvesting honey and wax from colonies, but it wasn’t until the Egyptians that we see organized management of these bees.”
Jumping ahead to 1758, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus formally classified the species. The study indicates that their stingers were described in great detail by American entomologist Robert E. Snodgrass in the early 1900s.
However, through the use of high-speed videography, researchers are uncovering new facets of this sophisticated system—insights that could have potential medical implications.
“The process isn’t a simple stop-and-start like a… syringe. A syringe’s plunger moves down once, and that’s it,” Ramirez Esquivel explained. “But with two plungers effectively in play, you can achieve a continuous flow.”
A black stingless bee (Trigona spinipes) captured at the Metropolitan Natural Park, a protected area in Panama City, on January 26, 2025. (Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty)
Ponisio expressed curiosity about other honey-producing bee species that significantly differ from the western honey bee, particularly those indigenous to the Americas.
“This raises intriguing questions about… other honey-producing bees and why they lack stingers. How did that work out for their survival?” Ponisio pondered.