Why do they itch?

From:  "ElbaliavanU"

I got stung by a bee yesterday, and today it itches!! Why do bee stings itch, and also, what exactly IS an itch, anyway? by the way, your site is so cool. I just found it today and I love it!

Amr Shalakani with his PhD shared this with us: 

regarding "why do they itch" question.. they itch because the bee has caused u a "type I" allergic reaction .When u got stung, the bee injected a small amount of it's proteins into you. Your body recognized those as being foreign...So it started acting against it...and the wheal you got is the result. As for the itch it's due to the local irritation fo the terminal nerve fibers in your skin. P.s) did you know that the bee actually dies within a few minutes after it stings someone (kamikazi action).

TB as always well researched the situation and pondered the facts and reported in with this info: 

This is a complex answer. Books have been written on this. The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is the primary defense against external organisms and trauma. An itch is one of the skin's responses to irritants to the skin. Scratch an unaffected area and eventually it will begin to itch. The body is telling you to pay attention to the area of the itch much like a pain response. Generally the solution is not to scratch and treat it or in most cases it will go away on its own. Some causes of itches are mosquito bites, poison ivy / sumac, allergies, dry skin and healing wounds besides healing bee stings. treatments for bee stings after making sure that the stinger has been removed is by taking an oral antihistamine, applying calamine lotion or topical hydrocortisone for relief.

Casey believes that the government is in on this some how: 

Bee stings and their itching effects are due to an enormous conspiracy currently being planned by the governments of many countries. It is some sort of scientific test, but what is the purpose of this so called test? Well...I don't know for sure, but I'm almost at the point of finding out the answer. I have traveled many long miles in search of the answer. About a week ago, I almost had the answer, but sadly, I was abducted by aliens and then they took me onto their ship. I asked them this question, but they refused to answer. While I was locked in a small room aboard the ship, I had many hours to ponder what exactly an itch is. Well....unfortunately, I did not come to a conclusion. I must carry on my journey in search of the truth. Maybe someday I will come across the answer as to why bee stings itch....and what an itch actually is. Until that day, I will live in paranoia believing it is a government conspiracy.

zettgrl simply answered with this: 

Because bees have venom that is injecting into the sting site through the stinger from a gland in the bees abdomen. The venom is an irritant similar to the antiseptic that mosquitoes inject into our skin before they suck out our blood.

Yohko summed it up with this: 

The reason that bee stings itch is because of a histamine reaction in the skin to the venom of the bee. The reason the itch happens is because the nerves are vibrating.