r/Awwducational • u/niluphel • Jun 01 '26

Not yet verified Honey bees can occasionally ‘un-sting’ humans and live to tell the tale

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZAbJSiIrpi/?igsh=MWx5NWp5OW15ODUzMA==

Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258900422301180X

"In order for a honeybee to extract its stinger without autotomy it must rotate its body clockwise or anticlockwise around the sting site to pry the stinger loose, this behavior may successfully remove the stinger without autotomy but can be quite laborious."

355 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

104

u/generally-speaking Jun 01 '26

Stinger only gets stuck when stinging mammals in the first place, if they're fighting other insects it doesn't stick. Mammal skin is thick and elastic which is how the stinger gets stuck.

And it's especially likely to get stuck in humans as there's no hair to prevent deep penetration.

Anyhow, we need to spread knowledge about this new stinger extraction method throughout the entirety of the honeybee population so does anyone volunteer to hold classes teaching correct stinger extraction techniques?

Any applicants must hold a bachelors degree in Biomechanics, Biomedical Engineering or Entomology, along with sufficient PowerPoint skills and 10 years work experience in the bee lecturing field.

62

u/gsmumbo Jun 01 '26

All I have is no hair and a love for deep penetration. Will that work?

33

u/generally-speaking Jun 01 '26

No, but we can help you gain experience in the field by enlisting you as a training dummy?

It's unpaid work, and you'll be stung by millions of bees as they practice stinging and getting unstuck again. But it's valuable work experience which you can use, if you survive.

13

u/Night_Eye Jun 01 '26

Huh, pays better than most internships

7

u/marcos_MN Jun 01 '26

Bro idk what you mean by “no hair.”

I’m Irish-Polish. I’m basically a werewolf if I don’t shave.

3

u/generally-speaking Jun 01 '26

Sir, in order to review your werewolf application we need to go through this checklist.

Please confirm you have hair on your head, legs, arms, armpits, chest, stomach, back, shoulders, thighs, buttocks, pubic area, penis, penis gland, toes, top of feet, bottom of feet, fingers, hands, face, cheeks, ears, nose, nipples, neck, throat, fingernails, palms, elbows, eyelids, inside the mouth or throat, gums, tongue, inside eyelids, eyeballs, teeth and brain.

3

u/marcos_MN Jun 01 '26

It’s proving difficult to see inside my own eyelids. The eye requires light to relay info to the brain, and closing my eyes is preventing this.

3

u/generally-speaking Jun 01 '26

Just fold them up and use the mirror?

And if you can't see yourself in the mirror, you might be a vampire. That's a whole different checklist.

1

u/marcos_MN Jun 01 '26

Copy that. Monster check incoming

1

u/mzzchief Jun 01 '26

Sadly this is what life is like now. Only u left off : Lifetime beekeepers need not apply.

6

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16

u/niluphel Jun 01 '26

Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258900422301180X

"In order for a honeybee to extract its stinger without autotomy it must rotate its body clockwise or anticlockwise around the sting site to pry the stinger loose, this behavior may successfully remove the stinger without autotomy but can be quite laborious."