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While a bee stinger may get stuck in you, that's not so when stinging fellow insects. The barbs don't catch on an exoskeleton like they do for thick and elasti
by spqr0a1 2y ago
While a bee stinger may get stuck in you, that's not so when stinging fellow insects.
The barbs don't catch on an exoskeleton like they do for thick and elastic mammalian skin.
An elegant way to deliver more venom to larger targets.
- randall 2y agoWow that's super interesting! What a novel mechanism.
- wizzwizz4 2y agoIf you're careful with the index fingers of opposite hands, you can remove the stinger from your skin without killing the bee.
- shakna 2y agoI don't think I've ever been stung in such a convenient position as to allow that.
- 867-5309 2y agoas opposed to index fingers of the same hand..
- cryptonector 2y agoNot really. The bee that stings you will flap her wings very vigorously, and it will rip its stinger off in less than a second trying to get away from you. Unless you're deliberately trying to get stung and save her, you won't have a chance.
- wizzwizz4 2y agoDepends on the colony. The bees that have stung me have always taken 5 or 10 seconds to start trying to dismantle themselves in earnest, which (depending on location) is usually enough time to rescue them. (I'm not sure whether they survive my rescue, but at the very least they can fly away, and their stingers don't remain in my skin.)
- EdwardDiego 2y agoYeah, I was hoping the article would mention this, but no dice. :(
- ErigmolCt 2y agoNature’s design is often elegant. But also (sometimes) cruel.