Overview
- The peer‑reviewed study published in PNAS on Oct. 12, 2026, used high‑speed videography to film detached Apis mellifera stingers driving into a skin‑mimic gel while pumping venom.
- Researchers found two sliding lancets each carry a deformable valve that alternately expands and collapses to act as collapsible pistons, producing continuous flow while the lancets reciprocate.
- Micro‑CT scans and an up‑scaled 3D‑printed prototype reproduced the same double‑piston kinematics, confirming the mechanical basis of the pumping cycle seen in the videos.
- The detached stinger can twitch and make minute pumping movements that may persist for minutes (reported up to about 15 minutes), which is why quick removal of the stinger limits further venom delivery.
- Authors place the mechanism in the context of honey bee autotomy as a colony defence and flag open questions about valve material properties and fluid forces while proposing bioinspired micropump and microfluidic applications.