How Do Bee Stingers Work? Stated Clearly

this is what the end of a honey bee stinger looks like under an electron microscope notice those Wicked backward facing barbs here's an animated diagram of the entire Stinger muscles Venom sack Venom pumps and all when you look at this you might be thinking no way that's fake surely a bee stinger isn't this complex right today we'll compare this diagram to actual footage of honeybee Stingers footage like this right here and we'll look at several high-resolution images taken with electron microscopes stated clearly presents [Applause] how do bee stingers work bees are very gentle Little Critters even though they can sting they usually only do so if you attack them first if you accidentally smash one or if they think you're trying to attack their hive that said when bees do sting it hurts a lot notice that even after the Stinger is detached zombie-like muscles keep digging and injecting that Venom the power of this tiny weapon comes not just from its potent venom venom which can destroy human cells but also from the Stinger's surprisingly complex structure let's start out our Tour by zooming in on the point of the spear the end of a honey bee stinger is made of three parts there is a stabilizing Rod technically called a stylet and two digging blades called lancets each Lancet is equipped with backward facing barbs let's animate this image for you here those lancets slide on the stylet their movements are powered by the muscles Left Behind when a bee releases or Stinger the blades move back and forth in a saw-like motion when a stinger enters your skin each time a blade tugs up those backward facing barbs catch in your skin pulling the rest of the Stinger down into your flesh alternating movements of each Lancet allow the Stinger to essentially walk further and further into your skin with each step of the Lancet zooming out here we see that the stylet the stabilizing Rod it broadens to form a large rigid Venom bulb if we peer through its surface we see that attached to the shaft of each digging blade each Lancet is a pump valve which fits inside that Venom bulb surrounding the bulb there are muscles attached to plates of exoskeleton that power each Lancet shaft every muscle pull simultaneously moves the lancet's digging blade and its pump valve it automatically injects more Venom every time it digs it's a two-for-one deal in this footage we're looking at the Stinger from a side view and even though it's hard to see clearly through the bulb the bulb is the dark section down near the skin the pump valves are visible you see that sitting on top of it all is a large Venom sack and several glands that originally produced the Venom in that Sac now at this point you might be wondering if the shaft of the Stinger is made of three parts a style it and two moving lancets what stops the Venom from leaking out at the seams shouldn't it spill out everywhere how does Venom only exit at the end of the Stinger well this is a cross section of the Stinger as seen through an electron microscope on the top here are the Lancet shafts on the bottom is the stylet or what I've been calling the stabilizing Rod now check this out each Lancet moves along a runner also called a ragus or rakis coming out of the stylet it's a classic tongue and groove system that joint is tightly sealed shut here's what those Runners look like if the lancets are removed furthermore each Lancet shaft has a curled flexible latch connecting it to its companion the latch on the right was damaged when this cross section was made I'll fix that here with some photoshop Magic all together these structures form a watertight hypodermic needle allowing Venom to flow through the inner Canal without leaking at any of the joints here we are looking at a honey bee stinger from a slight side angle again under an electron microscope I'll color this black and white image to match our diagram here in green we see the Venom bulb it's partly hidden by the structures surrounding it so there's a dotted line there to show you what parts are hidden up at the top we have the Venom sack underneath that are the Lancet shafts in blue if we zoom out we can contrast the diagram I've made to the real thing the Stinger of a honeybee it's one of the most amazing weapons in nature I would rank it above snake fangs which are also amazing and I'd put it at least on par with the chameleon's tongue sadly though the honeybee Stinger is far from perfect the wound left behind in a bee's body after she stings will usually kill her her life is the price she pays to defend her hive only the female bees have stingers male bees cannot sting we'll learn exactly why that is in an upcoming video evidence for evolution in your own backyard that one is going to be good make sure that you're subscribed and you hit the Bell icon if you don't want to miss that for now though let's just take a moment here to stop and appreciate what a fantastic Contraption the Stinger is from a bee's perspective you are Godzilla in those films Godzilla is impervious to our greatest weapons yet the amount of pain a single bee can deliver with just one sting well unless you're used to it that's usually enough to ruin a person's day on top of that if you happen to be extremely allergic which is super rare mind you I don't want to trigger a panic here but if you do happen to be extremely allergic a single sting can kill you that is impressive now normally I try not to brag but I gotta say I am proud of the diagram I've been showing you here it's currently the most accurate animated Stinger diagram on the internet this is an updated version of the one I published back in 2014. someday I'll do a third update to show how all the articulations and individual muscles work but this current update highlights how the pump valves slide past to replace each other when in use this ability was first described in 1910 by entomologist r e Snodgrass I dedicate this diagram to him this new version also highlights a structure which to my knowledge has never been described before right here is a joint called the basal articulation which has been officially described if we look at the Stinger from a side view we can see how it works this joint lets the Stinger swing forward and backward this joint is found in the ovipositors and Stingers of many types of ants bees and wasps but in some species honeybees included the bases of the condyles in this joint seem to have taken on a second function they appear to act as a zipper head or girdle which Zips the Lancet shafts together down the midline as they pass through that girdle it's a really neat mechanism bees are not the only ones that seem to have this girdle here's the same thing in the Stinger of a digger wasp I'm currently in conversations with several researchers to see if this girdle function has ever been described before in the scientific literature if not and if the girdle actually works the way that I think it does it should be officially described it's a beautiful example of what Stephen J Gould called an exactation evolution often generates new functional structures by simply modifying or expanding old structures if you found this diagram and video helpful I would love your support on future projects over on patreon.com forward slash stated clearly those who support my work get to see videos early they gain access to high resolution images for printing and if you or someone you know is a teacher patrons also get PowerPoint slides for these animations which they can use in their own classrooms or give to a teacher the slides for this video of course include the fully animated version of this diagram I am John Perry signing out you have just watched how do bee stingers work stated clearly huge thanks to everyone on patreon who supported this animation and Dr ishtvan Mikko along with Nancy miarelli for advising me on this project

Channel: Stated Clearly

Views: 756,814

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Id: IzVe3lyf4Fg

Length: 9min 10sec (550 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 27 2023