Ann, 100% correct, no barbs on the queen's stinger. Another trivia, when worker bees sting other bees (and other such things as insects, etc.), the stinger is not left behind. It is only in the "fleshy" parts of the higher forms of life that the barbed stinger gets stuck within, with the end result of the death of the bee in the loss of the sting apparatus that has been ripped out of her body. Have a wonderful day. Cindi