Page 44 - The Miracle of the Honeybee

42 THE MIRACLE OF THE HONEYBEE

Venom sac
Nerve
ganglion

Muscle
Protractor muscle
When a bee stings you, the barb on
its stinger pierces your skin. In the Retractor muscle
process, the entire sting mechanism is
torn out, leaving the bee mortally
wounded. Even after the dying bee
has departed, a set of muscles push Barbed lancets
the barb in deeper and continue to
contract in such a way as to pump The drawing above shows the bee-
more venom into the wound. The sting mechanism, with such struc-
small photograph shows a stinger de- tures as the muscles and venom
tached from a bee’s body. sac.