[krisoft]

I’m not sure game theory experience is the missing bit here. What are the chances of a bee getting infected by stinging an intruder? What are the chances of a bee not stinging an intruder and getting infected? (By just doing normal bee business, and during a hive intrusion) What are the chances that the infection will spread from that bee to a next inside the hive? What are the consequences of an infection?

Weather or not what you are saying makes sense depends on the answer to these questions. But these questions are not in the field of game theory. These are questions of bee epidemiology really.

[dmurray]

Also, what are the consequences to the hive of losing a bee? It's a pretty small energy investment to make a new one. The reproductive success of the bee is the reproductive success of the hive - it doesn't have any way to pass on its individual genes.