Question

Acid present in honey bee sting is:
A.Formic acid
B.Propanoic acid
C.Butanoic acid
D.None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Recall the functions, formulas, composition and uses of all the acids given in the option. All three acids only differ in the number of carbon they contain. Analyze the natural sources of all the acids and see which is closely linked to honey bee like species.

Complete step-by-step answer:We are given different acids varying in the number of carbon they consist of. Let us look at each of them one by one.
First let us see propanoic acid. Its formula is $C{H_3}C{H_2}COOH$ . It is used as an antifungal drug. It is also used as an antibacterial food preservative. So it should not be found in honey bee sting.
Next we have butanoic acid. Its formula is $C{H_3}C{H_2}C{H_2}COOH$ . It is also known as butyric acid. It forms some percentage of butter. It is formed by catalyzed air oxidation of butanal. Its natural source is from animal fats and plant oils. It is not found in honey bee sting.
Now let us see formic acid. Formic acid has the formula $HCOOH$ . It is also known as methanoic acid. It is made by reaction between sulphuric acid and sodium formate. The reaction is shown below,
 \[CO + NaOH\xrightarrow{{{H_2}O}}HCOONa\xrightarrow{{{H_2}S{O_4}}}HCOOH\]
It is naturally obtained from certain ants and honey bees and more precisely from honey bee stings. There are special stinger bees in a bee hive which have stings that secrete formic acid through their stings

So option A is the correct answer.

Note: Honey bee’s sting which contains formic acid, though it is acidic but then too the pain and swelling which is caused by honey bee’s sting is not due to formic acid but rather many other nasty ingredients which its sting contains.