New functionally ultrastructural details of the honey bee stinger tip: serrated edge and pitted surface

Abstract

Structure and function of the honey bee, Apis mellifera stinger is very well known. Nevertheless, we described two novel ultrastructural details at the end of the stinger using scanning electron microscopy. We found that the tips of the stinger lancets are not smooth; their edges are serrated and their surface contains numerous pits. We determined the height of the edge teeth to be approximately 0.16 ± 0.02 µm and the average width of the pits to range from 0.06 to 0.4 µm. We hypothesized these ultrastructures can cause more extensive tissue damage in victims and cut up more cell membranes than if their surfaces were smooth. The potential impact of such injury on the overall efficacy of the bee sting is discussed. Graphical Abstract