Why do bees die when they sting you?

Honeybees die because their stings have special barbs, attached to a poison sac, that lodge so firmly in the victim's skin that when the bee flies off, both sting and sac, together with a large part of the abdomen, are fatally ripped from its body.

But it's not a pointless death. The poison sac is surrounded by muscles that allow it to continue pumping venom into the victim for up to 20 minutes after the bee has gone, making it a very effective warning to anything thinking of threatening the bee's 50,000-plus colleagues in the hive.

Facts for life