Do all bees sting?

No. Only female bees can sting. Also, some kinds of bees have no stingers. Some have stingers but don’t use them. A honeybee has a barbed stinger at the back of its abdomen. Usually the bee keeps it hidden, but it’s ready for use if needed. A honeybee stings when in danger. It plunges the stinger into the victim’s flesh. But as the bee flies away, the barbs hold fast. The stinger pulls out of the bee’s body—and the bee soon dies. Bee stings can be dangerous as well as painful. In the United States alone, about 40 people a year die from bee stings.