Sting
Queen and worker bumblebees can sting. Unlike a honey bee's stinger, a bumblebee's stinger lacks barbs, so it can sting more than once. Bumblebee species are not normally aggressive, but will sting in defence of their nest, or if harmed. Female cuckoo bumblebees will aggressively attack host colony members, and sting the host queen, but will ignore other animals (e.g. humans) unless disturbed.
Read more about this topic: Bumblebee
Famous quotes containing the word sting:
“Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Not to be cowardly when it comes to our own actions! Not to leave them in the lurch!—The sting of conscience is indecent.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)