ill actively seek out and sting when they perceive the hive to be threatened, often being alerted to this by the release of attack pheromones. Although it is widely believed that a worker honeybee can sting only once, this is a misconception: although the stinger is in fact barbed so that it lodges in the victim's skin, tearing loose from the bee's abdomen and leading to its death in minutes, this only happens if the victim is a mammal (or bird).