Why do bees sting even though they would die after?
In: Biology
[Tier Zoo – How Ants and Bees broke the game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HPKKFugajE)
The typical story of species and evolved behavior is that behavior that is conducive to individuals reproducing is encouraged, while behavior that leads to death and/or not having children is discouraged, through mortal selection.
But hive insects break this concept because their genetic legacy is actually *better* preserved through the queen thriving than themselves surviving. Which means that drones can afford to adopt individually disadvantageous, or even suicidal behaviors, and so long as those behaviors benefit the hive, their genes are favored rather than selected against.
Evolution is more about the genes reproducing than about the individuals.
If a bee sacrifices itself for the safety of its hive, then the other bees could go on to reproduce and preserve the gene that caused the sacrificial behaviour.
The gene won.
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It’s the same as if you were to ask why a female wolf would still pick a losing fight against a bear to protect her cubs whereas she normally wouldn’t.
Animals do what they do not for their own survival, but that of their species.
1. Only when they sting mammals. Stinging other insects punches a hole in the exoskeleton of the intact and they can take the singer out no problem. Our skin is elastic and causes it to get stuck
2. They don’t know that they will die
3. The stinging bees are worker bees aka non-queen females. These bees are genetically identical to the queen and , in a healthy hive, will never lay eggs. These gene pool does not know if these bees live or die, so there’s no evolutionary mechanism that benefits from them living. Their behaviour will only impact their ability to “pass on their genes” if they fail to protect the queen. If by stinging an invading bear they can protect the queen, then they are helping pass on their genes, even if they die in the process
The most basic ELI5 answer I could give, although you wouldn’t really say such an explicit thing to an actual 5 year old, is that they sting for the same damn reason many guys are willing to stick their dick into crazy and risk losing that. Sometimes it’s just impossible to ignore and swallow down the primal urges that nature gave you.
The needs of the hive outweigh the needs of the bee.
Workers and drones are the last line of defence and they themselves don’t reproduce with the sole exception of the initial fertilisation of queens. Leaving the stinger in is more likely to dissuade or kill invaders because it continues to inject and irritate. As long as the death of the bee does not affect the ability of the hive to continue storing food and reproducing then there is no reason for the genes involved to be selected against. It should also be noted that not all bee species, honey collecting or otherwise, actually lose their stinger.
Wasps didn’t evolve barbs, but also do not produce honey and so there is less of an incentive for gatherers to continue an attack when stung since sugar is an extremely valuable energy source. Without the high calories provided by honey there is a lower attraction to a wasp nest simply to get protein from the lava which can be sought elsewhere.
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