The Honeybee’s Final Sting

If you’ve ever wondered why honeybees tend to die after stinging someone, the below pictures says it all. 

FIRST PHOTO--When honey bees sting, it's usually a clean break. Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen getting stung. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

SECOND PHOTO--Honey bee pulling out abdominal tissue. This photo won the ACE feature photo award.

THIRD PHOTO--Honey bee trying to escape after stinging. Worker bees die after stinging, which usually occurs while they're trying to defend their hive.

FOURTH PHOTO--A strand of abdominal tissue.

In an incredible capture by Kathy Keatley Garvey, a UC Davis Communications Specialist in the Department of Enomology, we see a bee stinging a person’s arm and then attempting to fly away as the stinger remains lodged in the victim. That trail of goo you see? It’s actually the bee’s abdominal tissue. The remarkable capture netted Garvey the first-place gold feature photo award in an Association for Communication Excellence competition.On the fortunate timing, Garvey said she was walking with a friend and a bee came close to him and started buzzing in a high-pitch. She said that’s normally a telltale sign that a bee’s about to sting, so she readied her camera and snapped four photos.