Athena Rayne Anderson

This content is based on a post originally published on January 18, 2012, on my blog “Pollinators Info” (no longer online).

Animal behavior is a fascinating subject, and can be very complex, so what I’ll talk about here is a simplified version…

First, remember that, as far as we know, non-human animals don’t do things because they “want to,” or they “have to.” The majority of animal behavior is the result of either genetically-influenced responses called instincts, or learning.

Some examples of instincts you’re probably familiar with are the imprinting of ducklings on the first thing they see, and the southward migration of some birds in autumn. A few examples of learned animal behaviors include young male birds learning their songs from older males, wolf pups learning how to hunt, and chimpanzee mothers showing their offspring how to get juicy grubs out of logs.

Fascinated yet? Keep reading…

The current explanation for bee stinging and “aggressive” behavior is that it’s instinctive. Early in the evolution of the bee lineage, the ability to sting was beneficial. In other words, it made the bearer of the sting more likely to survive and reproduce. In social insects, like some bees, the stinging ability of many nestmates made the nest more likely to survive because it drove off threats. The “sting response” was genetically inherited, and was passed on and increased in the population. Give it several million years and, Ta-da! we have a group of animals today that stings when threatened.

The immediate reason a bee stings is that she (only the females have stingers) got a signal that she or her nest was in danger. Her instinctual reaction to the danger signal is to behave in an aggressive manner, including stinging.

So, remember this the next time you’re stung by a bee (or a wasp- their story is similar)- you did something to give her a danger signal, and she responded instinctively by mounting her version of a defense.

Most bees are gentle!

I always try to point this out because the aggressive nature of honey bees and wasps gives people the wrong impression. The huge majority of wild bees live alone and can be watched closely without risk of being stung!

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