Whilst bees are our favorite animal, they can be a bit of menace. Here is some information, in case you meet a bee who is having a bad day.
Do you know what the difference between a bee and a wasp sting is?
There is a difference between a wasp sting and a bee sting. Wasp stings are deeper and tend to be slightly more painful. Unlike that of a bee, a wasp tends to linger longer when they are in a bad mood. They typically sting you numerous times in the same place, therefore making it all the more painful. The poison also filters into your bloodstream as a result. All in all, try not to run into an angry wasp as they can tend to me more grumpy and aggressive than bees.
In contrast, when a bee stings, they leave their stingers in the skin. Once that happens, it sadly dies. Bee stings can also be painful and also lead to discomfort, but they tend not to sting you unless necessary.
If you happen to get stung whilst keeping your bees, here is the fascinating process of a bee sting:
- First, the stinger gets the poisonous mixture into your blood.
- The main destructive components of the venom are the peptides and enzymes in charge of breaking cells down (see previous section). These components rip through many kinds of cells. One of these types of cells happen to be neurons. When neurons are damaged, they send a signal of pain to the brain. This is what actually makes us experience pain.
- The other components of the venomous mixture help to intensify this main process. For example, noradrenaline increases blood pressure, making it more difficult to clear or dilute the destructive agents. Other components cause an inflammatory reaction.
- In case of smaller animals as victims, such as small insects, these effects can end up in paralysis. This is a hunting mechanism that wasps use to capture prey.
Did you know: Bee sting venom is acidic, and wasp venom is basic (alkaline)
Because a bee sting is acidic, it is best to treat it with an alkali solution. Visa versa, for a wasp sting, treat it with acid as their sting is alkaline.
Many people claim that vinegar (acetic acid) helps relieve the pain of both, most likely through a protein denaturalization process.
However, the best easy home remedy includes; washing it with soap and abundant water.
All in all, even though bees can be a little difficult sometimes, usually bees are friendly and they never really want to sting you!
