Sting autotomy
The tearing away of a worker's sting apparatus when she stings a mammal.
Bees
Definition
A worker's sting carries backward-facing barbs that catch in elastic skin. Pulling away tears out the sting, venom sac and part of the abdomen, and she dies. Against another insect's hard cuticle the sting withdraws cleanly. The barb evolved for defence against other insects, not against us, and queens and most other bees have smooth stings.
See also
Other bees terms
Sources
Sources
- The Biology of the Honey Bee — Harvard University Press (1987) · Textbook
- The Bees of the World — Johns Hopkins University Press (2007) · Textbook
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