All’s Fair In Glove And War 📽 by @elibarks1 These worker bees are acting on the presumption that the man in the blue gloves is there to harm the hive. So willing are they to give their lives in defense of their queen, they attack with the only weapon they have and suffer the consequences of this action. If bees had anatomy classes, they would know that their stingers are one use only. Outward facing barbs ensure that once the stinger is embedded in the target it isn't going anywhere. As far as the bee is concerned, it is now an immovable object. The next best thing is for the bee itself to move, but it gets pretty gruesome from here on out. Attached to the stinger is the venom sac, which is also not going anywhere the stinger isn’t. Connective tissue, digestive material, muscles, glands, all get pulled out of the bees lower end like a magician’s scarf. When the bee is finally free of its lower abdomen, it slowly bleeds to death. It’s a sacrifice that they would gladly make 100 times over, sadly they have but one life to give. If you want to see what a bee's stinger looks like, I just posted a magnified photo on Twitter. I'll throw a link up in our story #natureismetal #keepnaturemetal - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subscribe to NatureisMetal on YouTube! Additional links in Bio!