Honeybee (Apis mellifera) being held by a pair of tweezers. This bee will be used to deliberately sting a patient undergoing bee venom therapy (BVT). It is thought that BVT can help alleviate the symptoms caused by rheumatism, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Live bees are delivered from bee breeding centres. Patients are first tested for bee venom allergies before being allowed to self-administer the treatment. The patient allows the bee to sting at specific points along the body. The bee dies after it has stung the patient, leaving behind the sting and venom sac. The medicinal use of honeybee products, such as venom, honey, royal jelly and beeswax, is known as apitherapy.