A stinger (or more correctly, sting) is a common term for a sharp organ or body part found in various animals and plants that usually delivers some kind of venom (usually piercing the skin of another animal) or an electric shock. A poisonous sting differs from other piercing organs in that it pierces by its own action, as opposed to teeth, which pierce by the force of jaws, or thorns, which pierce by the action of the victim. Stinger may refer to: // Stinger, an organ or body part found in various animals that usually delivers some kind of venom Stinger (medicine), a minor neurological injury suffered by athletes Stinger (radio), a short sound clip used to divide sections of a radio program or podcast. ... Åž:For other uses, see Organ (disambiguation) In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, instrument, tool) is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Snake poison be merged into this article or section. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... Human jaw front view Human jaw left view Human jaw top view The jaw is either of the two opposable structures forming, or near the entrance to, the mouth. ... Thorn, a sharp structure or growth on plants. ...

"Sting" also refers to the wound caused by a sting, and used as a verb "to sting" is to inflict such a wound.

Zoology

Wasp sting, with droplet of venom

The main type of construction of stings is a sharp organ of offense or defense, especially when connected with a venom gland, and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing; as the caudal sting of a scorpion. Among mammals, the male duck-billed platypus is unique in having a poisonous sting. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Wasp (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Snake poison be merged into this article or section. ... Wasp sting, with droplet of venom Venom (literally, poison of animal origin) is any of a variety of toxins used by animals, for the purpose of defense and hunting. ... Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See classification for families. ... This article is about the monotreme mammal. ...

The sting is typically located at the rear of the animal, near the tail (if any). Animals with stings include bees, wasps, hornets, and scorpions - although the scorpion's sting is not homologous to that of the other three, but is rather an example of convergent evolution. A scorpion tail The tail is the section at the rear end of an animals body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. ... For other uses, see Western honey bee and Bee (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wasp (disambiguation). ... This article refers collectively to all true hornets. ... Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See classification for families. ... In biology, homology is any similarity between structures that is due to their shared ancestry. ... In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related, independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. ...

Uniquely in honey bees amongst bees and wasps, the workers' stings (a modified ovipositor as in other stinging Hymenoptera) are barbed, and lodge in the flesh of mammals upon use and tears free from the honey bee's body, leading to the bee's death within minutes. The sting has its own ganglion (a mini-brain, essentially) and it continues to saw into the target's flesh and release venom for several minutes. The question of how such a trait could have evolved, when it is of such an obvious disadvantage to the individual, is resolved when one realizes that mammalian predators can easily destroy the entire colony if not repelled; if the colony is destroyed, a worker, being sterile, will die without offspring, so only through defense of the colony can she see to it that her genes are passed on. The barbs ensure that a honey bee's attack is only suicidal if the attacker is a mammal; they can sting other bees (in inter-colony raids) repeatedly. Thus, under natural conditions, the suicidal aspect of the honey bee sting's barbs only come into play in the event of an attack which threatens to wipe out the entire colony. The sting of all other bees and wasps is not barbed, and so can be used to sting mammals repeatedly (or, more accurately, to sting mammals and still live to sting another day). The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... This is a dorsal root ganglion (DRG) from a chicken embryo (around stage of day 7) after incubation overnight in NGF growth medium stained with anti-neurofilament antibody. ...

The caudal sting, or spine, of a sting ray (fish) is a modified dorsal fin ray. This article is about the fish. ... Dorsal fin of an orca, like DC10 s stabilizer A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of some fishes, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the (extinct) ichthyosaurs. ...

For creatures such as jellyfish, stinger can refer to the tentacles that carry cnidocytes to capture and paralyze prey. For other uses, see Jellyfish (disambiguation). ... Tentacles can refer to the elongated flexible organs that are present in some animals, especially invertebrates, and sometimes to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. ... Cnidocytes, also known as cnidoblasts or nematocytes, are prey-capture and defensive cells unique to and present in all animals of the phylum Cnidaria (corals, sea anemones, hydrae, jellyfish etc. ...

By extension the term is sometimes applied to the fang (a modified tooth) of a snake. One species of snake, Psammophylax rhombeatus, is even known as skaapsteker (Afrikaans for sheep stinger). It is extremely common in South Africa, and far north along the east - and west coast. Look up fang in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Infraorders and Families Alethinophidia - Nopcsa, 1923 Acrochordidae- Bonaparte, 1831 Aniliidae - Stejneger, 1907 Anomochilidae - Cundall, Wallach & Rossman, 1993 Atractaspididae - Günther, 1858 Boidae - Gray, 1825 Bolyeriidae - Hoffstetter, 1946 Colubridae - Oppel, 1811 Cylindrophiidae - Fitzinger, 1843 Elapidae - F. Boie, 1827 Loxocemidae - Cope, 1861 Pythonidae - Fitzinger, 1826 Tropidophiidae - Brongersma, 1951 Uropeltidae - Müller, 1832...

Botany

A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secrets an acrid fluid, as in nettles. The points of these hairs usually break off in the wound, and the acrid fluid is pressed into it. “Nettles” redirects here. ...

Analogous use

The word can be used for an object that is similarly painful, such as a particularly hard blow, or a device that can easily cause such pain; especially, in BDSM, a spanking implement consisting of beaded wands, cemented into a cap and finished with a ring for hanging ([[1]] sold as a 'spanking toy' - illustrated) Marines practicing striking A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. ... A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. Female bottom in bondage with leather monoglove BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... Political cartoon from 1860 depicting Stephen A. Douglas receiving a traditional “over-the-knee” spanking from Columbia as Uncle Sam looks on approvingly. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

stinger

• Bee sting
• Insect bite
• Cnidocyte
• Schmidt Sting Pain Index
• Stinger (BDSM)

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... For other uses, see Bee sting (disambiguation). ... Insect bites and stings can cause an immediate skin reaction often resulting in redness and swelling in the injured area. ... Cnidocytes, also known as cnidoblasts or nematocytes, are prey-capture and defensive cells unique to and present in all animals of the phylum Cnidaria (corals, sea anemones, hydrae, jellyfish etc. ... Schmidt Sting Pain Index or The Justin O. Schmidt Pain Index was created by Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist. ... The word stinger can be used for an object that is similarly painful, such as a particularly hard blow, or a device that can easily cause such pain; especially, in BDSM, a spanking implement consisting of beaded wands, cemented into a cap and finished with a ring for hanging ([[1...

Sources and references

• the 1913 edition of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.