Teddy Thiessen, age 9  Ottawa, Ontario

Why does a bee die after she stings somebody?

The bee is a fragile little creatures in spite of her hard work and endurance. Her pretty golden‑striped abdomen is protected only with soft hairs. Her head and thorax are better protected in hard casing, Unlike some insects, she has no hard casing over her abdomen, Nor can she protect her soft body by folding it in hard wings as some insects can.

The bee’s sting is in the soft part of her body. It is a hard  deeply rooted spear, This you know if you have ever scared a bee into stinging you. The hard spear digs in deepo injecting the poison. Then the little bee wants to draw it out again.

Very often she cannot do this, She rips herself free leaving the sting behind, When she does manage to pull out her sting, she uses all her strength to do so, This wrenches, rends and tears her soft, fragile abdomen;

Almost always, the sting is fatal to the little bee, She flies away to die from her own wounds.