Page 14 - NLN September 19

CURIOUS KIDS:

This is an article
Do bees ever accidentally series for children. The
from Curious Kids, a

sting other bees? Conversation is asking kids
to send in questions they’d
like an expert to answer. All
questions are welcome –
serious, weird
Do bees ever accidentally sting other bees? or wacky!
Evie, age 8, Stanwell Park

Hi Evie,

Your question is super interesting. I have spent many years
studying and working with different kinds of bees and I’ve never
seen a bee accidentally sting another bee - but that doesn’t
mean it doesn’t happen. So, I’ve done some reading to try to
find out if anybody else has.

There are many different kinds of bees and some live in groups
with other bees. The most famous of the bees that live in big
groups are honey bees (probably because their honey is
so tasty).

Honey bees that live in the same hive are called nestmates
because they share a nest. The queen bee lays all the eggs in the
hive and has mostly daughters. So usually nestmates are sister-
bees that get along very well. They cooperate to feed their little
sisters and brothers, collect food, build and protect their nests
from animals (or bees from other nests) that want to eat them
or their honey.

Because sometimes honey bees steal nectar (the main ingredient
for making honey) from other nests, some bees, called guard
bees, stand at the door and sniff the bees that land there with
their antennae. If the newly landed bee smells like she belongs
in the nest, the guard lets her nestmate in. If not, the guard will
bite and sting the intruder bee, preventing the intruder from
entering the nest.

In experiments where scientists investigate how bees tell
whether a bee is their nestmate or not, bees sometimes fail
to recognise their nestmates and end up accidentally stinging
their sisters! They also sometimes let bees into the hive that are
not their nestmates.

So yes, Evie, when trying to defend their nests from intruders,
bees sometimes accidentally sting their nestmate sisters, but
only because they mistake their sisters for intruders.

I can’t say that I blame them. I’m not sure I’d be so good at
recognising my sisters if I had thousands of them.

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an
expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to
curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au