People often mistake a bee sting with a bee bite. This article investigates which bees can bite humans. In so doing, we answer the question – can bees bite humans?
In conversations, many people will tell you they were bitten by a bee meaning they were stung by a bee. Generally, we get bitten by spiders and snakes and stung by bees, wasps, and scorpions.
Honeybees can do both. When they sting they inject a cocktail of poisons into your body. To summarize bee venom is a nasty, crafty cocktail of chemicals that the bee uses with the direct intention of either killing you or teaching you a lesson for life.
After a bee has bitten you, it leaves its sting embedded in your skin. The bees stomach will pull out and an alarm pheromone marks the site where you were stung.
We now know that some bees sting, and all bees bite. Surprisingly bees that bite can also carry chemicals in their mouths and on their legs, which, when in contact with eyes and mucous membranes will actually cause a stinging sensation.