Every queen bee has a stinger, and is fully capable of using it. Queen bees, however, almost never sting people; they reserve their stinging for other queen bees.
At Wildflower Meadows, we hold, mark and cage tens of thousands of queens each year. As uncomfortable as it must be for the queens to endure this, they never take it out on our team by stinging us. Instead, our queens seem to maintain a peaceful and graceful quality. They don’t even try to sting us. Our colleagues and friends from other queen producing companies report the same; queens, whatever their genetics, simply don’t sting humans. In the miniscule times where it has been reported that a queen actually has stung a person, we have heard that the sting is not as painful to a person as that of a worker bee.
This could be that because, unlike a worker bee, a queen bee’s stinger is smooth and not barbed. Given that a queen bee’s stinger is smooth, this means that she can theoretically sting multiple times without losing her stinger and dying in the process. This is unlike what happens to a worker bee, which loses her stinger and dies in the process of stinging.
So, what is the point of the queen bee’s stinger? Her stinger is reserved as a weapon to use against other queens. Because queen honeybees rarely tolerate other queen bees within their midst, they need a way to attack them with force. When a queen encounters another queen, the result is often a fight-to-the-death. In such a fight, a queen’s stinger serves as her primary weapon. When a queen bee attacks another queen, it is her stinger that delivers the deathblow.
Queens not only sting other active queens, but they also – believe it or not – sting the developing queen pupae inside of queen cells! Queens are so hostile towards each other that a mature queen will poke her stinger right through the outside casing of a mature queen cell in order to kill the undeveloped future queen inside the cell. Thank goodness that we beekeepers are not the recipients of this kind of wrath!
FAQs
Our colleagues and friends from other queen producing companies report the same; queens, whatever their genetics, simply don't sting humans. In the miniscule times where it has been reported that a queen actually has stung a person, we have heard that the sting is not as painful to a person as that of a worker bee.
Do bees sting when foraging? ›
In general, bees sting to protect their hive and seldom sting when they are foraging unless they feel threatened (like being swatted at or stepped on).
Do wild honey bees sting? ›
A honey bee can sting a person or predator using its stinger. Honey bee stings are quite painful and even life-threatening to a small percentage of people who are allergic to the venom. Honey bees usually sting as a way to defend themselves or their colony.
What to do if a queen bee lands on you? ›
Your instincts might tell you to slap or swat at a bee that's landed on you. But you'll have much better outcomes if you stay calm when a bee lands on you. Bees land on people primarily because something on you smells interesting to them. If you can hold still, they will likely buzz off in a few moments.
Are queen bees aggressive? ›
Most of them aren't more dangerous than the worker bees as queen bees spend nearly all of their time inside the hive constantly walking from brood comb to brood comb laying eggs.
How many times can a queen bee sting before it dies? ›
Honey bees are known to have barbed stingers and will sting only once and then die. While this is true of most honey bees, the queen honey bee usually has a smooth stinger and can sting multiple times. Honey bees are usually very docile.
What happens if a queen bee dies? ›
Lastly, when a honey bee queen suddenly dies, an urgent and unplanned supersedure occurs. Worker honey bees identify several larvae within the proper age range and begin to condition these larvae to become queens.
What is the lifespan of a queen bee? ›
Queens, who are responsible for producing and laying eggs, live for an average of two to three years, but have been known to live five years. Domesticated honey bee queens may die earlier, as beekeepers "re-queen" the hives frequently. A single queen lays thousands of eggs throughout her life.
Do bees warn you before stinging? ›
If a colony of bees thinks you're a predator, it first sends out a few guard bees to warn you away by "head butting" you, according to a guide by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service's Saguaro National Park.
Will bees sting if they land on you? ›
Some bees are just plain mean and no amount of responsible beekeeping will help. Stay calm! If a bee lands on your or is flying nearby, they are likely just curious and have no intent to sting you.
Meliponines are not the only type of bee incapable of stinging: all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae and Megachilidae (tribe Dioxyini), also cannot sting. Some stingless bees have powerful mandibles and can inflict painful bites.
What is the most aggressive honey bee? ›
Africanized honey bees
Infamous for their aggressive behavior, they will attack anything that threatens their nest.
Are wild bees aggressive? ›
General honeybee aggression
Honeybees generally attack only to defend their colony, but will also attack if they are seriously disturbed outside the nest.
Will a bee sting you if you stay still? ›
They sting people who either wander too close to their nests… or startle them with sudden movements. If you see bees around you, try not to move too quickly. Don't jerk toward or away from the bee, freak out, jump up and down, whatever. Instead, move away from the bee sloooooowly.
How do you know if a bee has a queen? ›
Distinctive features of a Queen Bee
Look for: A long, narrow abdomen with a pointed end – other bees have a rounded abdomen. Shorter wings – while workers' wings reach almost to the end of their bodies, the queen's wings only reach halfway down her abdomen.
What happens if a queen bee is in your house? ›
Catch it and let it go outside. Call an apiarists, they can capture the queen and provide you with some honey from the hive she starts.
Can bees reject a queen? ›
When a new queen comes into a hive and the bees are not ready to accept her, they will often try to kill her or remove her.
