Western honey bee Since workers are not fully sexually developed, they do not mate with drones and thus can only produce haploid (male) offspring. Queens and workers have a modified ovipositor, a stinger, with which they defend the hive. Unlike bees of any other genus and the queens of their own species, the stinger of worker honey bees is barbed. Contrary to popular belief, a bee does not always die soon after stinging; this misconception is based on the fact that a bee will usually die after stinging a human or other mammal. The stinger and its venom sac, with musculature and a
Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium genes for immunity, detoxification and the development of the cuticula The population genetic analysis showed Africa as the origin and hypothesized that the spread into Europe happened in at least two independent waves. Data from the scientific collaboration is made available on Beebase led by Texas A&M University. BeeSpace led by the University of Illinois is an effort to complete a web navigable catalog of related information. Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium The Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium is an international collaborative group of genomics scientists, scientific organisations and universities trying to decipher the genome sequences of the honey bee