So, how could a self-sacrificing attack be beneficial in terms of evolution? Mostly it isn't. Remember, the changes that occur in evolution are random. If the mutation is not negative, then maybe it'll prove adaptive and result in a change in the species as a whole. Note, a change doesn't have to be helpful to stay around. It just can't be negative enough to reduce (or eliminate) an animal's chance of reproducing.
If every time a lion bit something and lost its teeth, it would probably end up dying of starvation. Obviously this isn't beneficial so this mutation leads to a dead end.
Worker bees however, are easily replaced. They only live for a week or two to begin with and young workers are constantly being born. If bees were solitary animals, each one responsible for living and breeding, then dying after stinging something would be very detrimental to the survival of the species. But since workers are replaceable members of a colony, and only the survival of the Queen is important to the species, then death after stinging isn't a negative.
At some point, a mutation resulted in worker honey bees having a barbed stinger. This caused them to die after stinging. But worker bees do not need to live long enough to reproduce so this trait isn't detrimental to the survival of the species, therefore, it hasn't had a negative impact on their adaptation. That's just the way the cards fell.
There isn't a reason for it. It just happened, didn't hurt the survival of the species (and maybe has some benefit, maybe not) and stuck.What is the evolutionary factor that kills bees after they sting?
Only honeybees die when they sting humans, or animals. They can sting other things and not die. The pointer on a honeybee is shaped like a fish hook, and when they sting humans or animals the barb gets stuck in the skin, and when you brush them off it rips part of their abdomin out and that is why they die. They will only sting to protect the colony, Queen or whey they are fightened. If a bee stings a human, he does not know that he is going to die...
A dying honeybee sends out a powerful odor or single to trigger and coordinate a vicious assault. Without the death of the bee this signal or odor could not be released and the attack would not be as precise and devastating. This would cause them to loose their honey more often and starve and die more often. Thus they would not have offspring.
When they sting, they lose their stinger along with part of their abdomen. They die because of this loss. That part of the abdomen also includes the sack that contains the poison. In any event, when an insect loses their defense so they become defenseless and would fall prey to something else anyways...
Honey bee stingers only come off if they are imbedded in fleshy tissue, like skin. Their stingers have tiny barbs which act like microscopic hooks which cling onto our flesh as the bee struggles to make itself free. In the process of trying to free itself it not only leaves the stinger behind but also internal organs as well (it basically rips it's stomach out), causing it to die shortly thereafter.
So, in answer to your question, honey bees only die if they sting an animal with fleshy, sponge-like skin. They will not die if they sting other insects, for example.
Not all bee species die when they sting people, just the honey bee. Some bees don't have barbs on their stingers, like carpenter bees and bumble bees. Wasps don't have barbs on their stingers either. They can sting people multiple times and not die.
The bees that can sting and will eventually die are worker type bees. All that needs to be done is for another bee in the hive to active an eggs cell. Once activated it wont take long to replace that dead worker. You see only a few bees actually attack and sting, there are hundreds of worker bees in a hive. So, a few deaths for any reason is no big deal.
I can see where you are trying to go. Cause you think that it is self sacrifice, the ultimate end. But animals don't kill themselves with some grand plan of saving the whole hive or herd. Animals like certain bees are just merely workers, programed to do what they do. A worker dies, it gets replaced. Does not matter why that worker bee dies.
You will also note that there are plenty of bees, wasp and hornets that sting without dying. So the bees have it all figured out, thanks to evolution.
My mom keeps bees as a hobby and I can tell you that I'm not too fond of them. They die after they sting because because when they sting you they leave a barb of venom in your skin. The barb is also part of their digestive tract. The abdominal rupture is what kills the bee.
I have no clue Nenner Beener... good question
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