In Dermatology and cosmetics: antifungal and tissue regenerative
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6. Bee venom Among honey bees, only female members (queen and workers) have stinging ability and male members do not have any stinger, which is the defense organ. Venom secretion is generally for defensive purposes as it is for individual or social insects. While bees secrete venom in order to protect their host hive or to attack against any plundering, the queens use it for the competition when there are two or more queens in a colony in order to kill the other one with the venom of the stronger one. Stinger of bees places at the end of abdomen. The stinger has been transformed into a complex structure which has become the defense organ with the structural change of ovipositor for other female insects. The stinger composes of two sections and three parts. These sections are formed by tapering of one top part (Stylet) and two lower parts (Lanset) and their thickening towards the body and connected to a venom reservoir. The venom is secreted from alkaline and acid secretion glands which are in connection with those sting parts and it is stored in the venom sac. Venom production increases during the first two weeks of mature worker bees’ lifetimes and it is maximized when honey bees start to fulfill their duties for defending the hive and foraging. When bee stings, it does not discharge the entire venom of 0.15-0.3 mg in its venom sac normally. When it stings a living being, the bee loses its venom sac, muscles and nerve center together with its stinger and then dies. When a person is stung by bees 600 times simultaneously and when those stingers are not removed immediately and when it is assumed that each bee discharged its total venom of (0.3 mg), such stings may be lethal for a person, and it will definitely be lethal for a child of 10 kg weight.
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