Can Bees Bite?
Yes, bees can bite, although this behavior is not as commonly discussed as their ability to sting. The mechanics and reasons for bee biting vary slightly depending on the species and context, but here’s an explanation:
Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and Biting
Honey bees are primarily known for their stings, which they use as a defense mechanism. However, worker bees are capable of biting using their mandibles (jaws), though this is generally used for:
Grooming and manipulating wax during hive construction.
Feeding larvae or processing pollen and nectar.
Grabbing or pinching intruders, such as small pests like wax moth larvae or Varroa mites.
Recent studies have confirmed that honey bees can bite small parasites, and in doing so, they can release a chemical anesthetic (2-heptanone) that can paralyze or stun the pest, allowing the bee to remove it from the hive. This isn't a bite in the same painful, aggressive way we think of with many other animals, but it is technically a defensive bite with functional purpose.
Solitary and Other Bee Species
Some solitary bees and other species may use their mandibles more forcefully:
Carpenter bees have strong jaws and may bite or chew through wood, not out of aggression but as part of their nesting behavior.
If handled, some larger solitary bees might attempt to bite as a form of defense, though it is usually not painful to humans.
Bee bites, especially from honey bees, are not generally painful or noticeable to humans. They're mainly effective against much smaller threats. In contrast, the sting is what humans typically react to because it delivers venom and causes pain, swelling, and sometimes allergic reactions.
Do Bees Bite?
Bees are most likely to bite when dealing with non-human intruders that require precision and jaw strength rather than venom. Here’s when bees resort to biting behavior instead of stinging:
Defending the Hive from Small Intruders
Bees frequently use biting as a first line of defense against invaders that are too small to sting effectively, such as:
Varroa mites: Parasitic mites that latch onto adult bees and brood.
Wax moth larvae: Invasive pests that burrow into hive wax and cause structural damage.
Small beetles or larvae: Other intruders small enough to evade or not trigger a sting response.
Bees bite these pests using their mandibles to grab, crush, or disable them. Honey bees have been observed secreting a mild anesthetic chemical, 2-heptanone, from their jaws during biting, which temporarily paralyzes small threats—helping them remove or neutralize the invader without a struggle.
Conflict or Policing Among Bees
In rare cases of in-colony conflict, worker bees may bite each other during:
Policing (e.g., removing worker-laid eggs).
Enforcing hierarchy or hive discipline.
Rejecting or attacking a queen (queen balling) — this may include mandible use alongside stinging to suffocate or eliminate an unwanted queen.
While more common in extreme colony stress, this behavior shows that bees may use biting as part of internal enforcement.
Handling or Physical Restraint (By Humans)
If a bee is physically restrained or pinched but cannot sting due to the angle, it may attempt to bite as a reflex, particularly larger species like carpenter bees. Most of the time, this isn’t painful or harmful to humans, but it can happen, especially with solitary bees or queens being handled for research or hive management.