Scientists solve mystery behind honeybee's sting

Australian scientists have uncovered the mechanism that allows a honeybee's stinger to continue to pump venom after the bee flies away. The breakthrough will be cold comfort to those who have had the misfortune of swiping at a stinging bee, only for the pain to continue. But for the scientists at Macquarie University and University of New South Wales who helped crack the mystery, it was five years well spent. "It's been a monumental effort," lead author of the study laying out the work, Fiorella Ramirez-Esquivel told AAP. "Sometimes as scientists you don't get to dig in as far as you want to. But this one was a really good, meaty project." Researchers have known honeybees empty their venom sacs into a chamber using small pumps since the early 20th century.