Dec. 19, 2012
The photo, taken by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, shows Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen being stung by a bee. The image was taken in the apiary of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
It depicts a Carniolan bee reared by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey. At the time the image was taken, the bee was defending its hive.
Usually a bee sting results in a clean break, Mussen said. This one shows the bee trailing abdominal tissue.
The photo initially won the first-place (gold) award in a feature photo contest sponsored by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences. The Sacramento Bee featured it, and later it was selected one of the Huffington Post's most amazing photos of 2012 and "Picture of the Day" on a number of websites.
Garvey wrote about "The Sting" in one of her Bug Squad blogs on the UC Agricultural and Natural Resources (UC ANR) site.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894