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
Swarming (honey bee) by one or more virgin queens. Sometimes a beehive will swarm in succession until it is almost totally depleted of workers. Swarming is honey bee colonies' natural means of reproduction. In the process of swarming the original single colony reproduces to two and sometimes more colonies. For instance, one species of honey bee that participates in such swarming behavior is "Apis cerana." The reproduction swarms of this species settle 20–30 m away from the natal nest for a few days and will then depart for a new nest site after getting information from scout bees. Scout bees search for suitable