Talk:Stinger

Merge proposal
The Sting (biology) is basically the same topic. Stinger (organ) title is more precise. mikka (t) 17:06, 24 December 2005 (UTC)


 * This should definitely be merged. No question about it. Soakologist 01:39, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
 * sting (biology) is still too general if you look closely. no way to put nettle stings, scorpions, and apocrita under one heading. this article here should instead disambiguate to the three subtopics and bee sting should be merged with stinger (organ). -- Kku 11:59, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Honeybee stingers & mammals
The section on honeybee stingers specially mentions mammals. Do these bees never sting birds or reptiles? Ashmoo 01:48, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
 * They do sting birds. I don't know of any reference to bees stinging reptiles. DS 01:15, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Honeybee Stingers
A small question here. Why is it that the honeybee stingers are barbed? The article says that the sting is suicidal only if the attacker threatens to wipe out the whole colony. Wouldn't it be better if every bee survived rather than only those which didn't sting the attacker? BeefRendang 09:23, 4 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the . Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

PAGE MOVED per discussion below. -GTBacchus(talk) 05:26, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Requested move
stinger (organ) → stinger — And stinger to stinger (disambiguation) - because the organ is the most prominent stinger and the term from which all other uses take their meaning. Yath 11:27, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

Survey
Add  * Support   or   * Oppose   on a new line followed by a brief explanation, then sign your opinion using ~.


 * Support as nom. --Yath 11:28, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Support per nom.--Planetary 15:31, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Support per nom. Warofdreams talk 15:20, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Discussion
Add any additional comments:
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Injuries
Regarding the word, "Stinger": An announcer on a pro football game was complaining that the word "stinger" did not fairly describe the intensity of pain associated with the injury in sports that is called a "stinger". He said the pain was much worse than a sting and suggested that the media come up with a better, different, more descriptive word. My point to you is this, upgrade your present definition to include the phrase "stinger syndrome" describing a pro athelete's multiple pain reactions to a viscious hit. That way Wik stays in the game on the word, and people like me who look it up on Wik will at least find something to read about it. As to crediting the etymology of the new phrase, no need to, life is busy enough without undue adulation! ciao,

gregorio da gama

gregoriodagama@yahoo.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.142.190.182 (talk • contribs) 12:37, 24 August 2007

Stinger vs Sting
I wonder who made this rather condescending remark and based on what. Look in Merriam-Webster and the word stinger is explained, without any comment on a more proper use of "sting". If you look up "sting" as a noun, it provides various explanations, one referring directly to Stinger, implying stinger is the more accepted term, and other meanings that imply the feeling of having been stung etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.247.180.199 (talk) 13:03, 4 June 2011 (UTC)
 * As no citation is given for this I'm removing the "more correctly" and changing it simply to an "or" Sxoa (talk) 11:31, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Stinger/sting
Stinger is American English, sting is British (and Australian). See: Cambridge Dictionaries Online, Longman English Dictionary Online etc.

And that is why Merriam-Webster (US) lists stinger, and Oxford (UK) lists sting.

As Wikipedia is International, both "entries" are equally valid! (There should of course be only one page.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.254.200.12 (talk) 17:40, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Ants
Under Arthropods it says: "Ants have venom glands but no stinger; instead, they eject the venom forcibly."

This claim that ants lack a sting/stinger is wrong. Some ants have one, others don't. Some ants do sting, others don't. And some ants are really nasty!

Compare, for instance, Fire_ant ("stinging ants have a dedicated venom-injecting sting"), Myrmica_rubra ("and are equipped with a stinger"), Bullet_ant ("The pain caused by this insect's sting is purported to be greater than that of any other Hymenopteran") and Jack_jumper_ant("They sting their victims with venom that is similar to stings of wasps, bees, and fire ants. Their venom is one of the most powerful in the insect world."). And, yes, all these ants are true ants (Formicidae). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.254.200.12 (talk) 18:01, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Bite vs Sting; jellyfish

 * An insect bite or sting is a break in the skin or puncture caused by an insect and complicated by introduction of the insect's saliva, venom or excretory products.

In common speech “bite” and “sting” are used somewhat interchangeably. But venom delivered (received) by a bite is more correctly called a “bite” and by a sting(er) called a “sting”. Given that this article is about stingers, the lead sentence (above) of the second paragraph about insect bites and saliva is misplaced / misleading. Stingers ought to be about the apparatus and not a general overview of venom delivery that includes bites / saliva; perhaps there is room for this information in the venom article. Thus I've eliminated that confusing text but added that a stinger is a modified ovipositor (for Hymenoptera).

Very few insects leave behind a stinger (only honey bees, Apis, to my knowledge) and thus that comment is modified. However, most jellyfish and relatives have multiple "stingers" which often do release on contact with the victim; to the stinger article I will add Cnidaria, (jellyfish, etc.) as their apparatuses are more stinger than not, (in Wikipedia the preferred term for their stinger is "cnidocyte").

GeeBee60 (talk) 14:28, 21 November 2016 (UTC)

Should stinging plants be included here?
From Sting (a disambiguation page):
 * Sting may refer to:
 * Stinger, a structure of an animal or plant to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger

The sting(er) of e.g. a wasp is biologically completely distinct from e.g. the stinging hairs of a nettle. But it is also very different from the spur of a platypus, the stinging cells of a jellyfish, or the spines of a stingray or other venomous fish. If the latter can all be considered forms of "stingers", can plant stings as well? Iapetus (talk) 16:05, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

No, we absolutely shouldn't, we're discussing the specific anatomical feature derived from an insect ovipositor here, and the fact that names are similar is a matter for lexical disambiguation, not coverage in the same article. More general questions such as antipredator adaptation, say, are the topics of other articles. Chiswick Chap (talk) 16:29, 17 January 2017 (UTC)


 * "Stinging Nettles" is a common name for a common plant; while nettles do not belong here, a clearer distinction in the sting disambiguation discussion is warranted. GeeBee60 (talk) 06:15, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Then go to that page. Chiswick Chap (talk) 06:59, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Huh? Which page is "that"?  The Sting disambiguation page says "Stinger, a structure of an animal or plant to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger."  I stand by my comment (above) that "... a clearer distinction in the Sting disambiguation discussion is warranted". GeeBee60 (talk) 17:27, 29 January 2017 (UTC)
 * I agree, and repeat, go and either talk or edit on that page, sting, not here. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:38, 29 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Done -- now split into two entries. But am adding Stinging plant to the "See also" section here.GeeBee60 (talk) 15:06, 31 January 2017 (UTC)

Stinger/sting redux
This recent debate over British versus US choice echos the same debate that appears on this Talk page back in 2011-12. David notMD (talk) 08:26, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

Rewrite?
please tell us why you think this article needs a rewrite. Also when you've been reverted, discuss your proposed edit instead of simply re-applying it. GA-RT-22 (talk) 04:26, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

"Wasp sting" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wasp_sting&redirect=no Wasp sting] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Jay 💬 18:39, 31 March 2024 (UTC)