If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: A bee’s stinger is barbed while a needle is smooth. The venom in a bee stinger causes pain and inflammation while a needle is relatively harmless. Both can puncture skin but a bee stinger detaches while needles remain intact.

In present study, the effects of the stinger and its barbs of worker honeybee on insertion and pull process were experimentally studied and numerically calculated in comparison with the acupuncture needle (as a barbless stinger). The structure of worker honeybee stinger and acupuncture needle were observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

🌟 Delve into the microscopic world of discomfort, comparing the notorious bee sting 🐝 with the clinical jab of a needle 💉. In this intriguing exploration,...

The bee stinger is generally similar to a long needle and its proximal apex is covered by two lines of barbs, which subtend two angles with the stinger axis. The tetrahedron-shaped barbs decrease in size as they approach the tip of the stinger.