Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by opus1
Bees sting as a last resort. When a bee stings you, the barbs in the stinger keep it inside the victim and when the bee flies away, the stinger and vital organ(s) stay with the stinger so the bee dies.
I guess if the end result is the same, it would be worth the bee's life to save the hive, but I don't think they can reason that way.
For mammals and other animals with skin, but that's not correct when they are defending the hive against other arthropods, correct?
Good question. Then again, you may have answered the OP's question - if they can't penetrate the exoskeleton, then it's useless for them to try to sting the invader.