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
Western honey bee been collecting honey from bees for thousands of years, with evidence in the form of rock art found in France and Spain, dating to around 7000 BCE. The honey bee is one of the few invertebrate animals to have been domesticated. Bees were likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, where tomb paintings depict bee-keeping. Europeans brought bees to North America in 1622. Beekeepers have selected bees for several desirable features: These modifications, along with artificial change of location, have improved bees from the point of view of the beekeeper, and simultaneously made them more dependent on beekeepers for their survival.