Do you think bees just sting? The shocking truth about hive intruders

The post Do you think bees just sting? The shocking truth about Hive Intruders appeared first on AZ Animals.

Quick pick up

• administrator 80,000 insects require a deadly response to the specifics mammalian threats.

• The weight of a single one mouse prevents nurse bees from the execution of elimination tasks.

• Hive sterility it relies on the counter-intuitive conservation of organic decay.

• The winter cluster is necessary for protection even if he leaves entry unguarded.

Mice like to roost in beehives. It’s a perfect place for a mouse; warm and cozy with lots of honey to eat. However, bees are not too fond of invaders and have ways of dealing with wasps, robber bees from other colonies or even a stray mouse that has wandered into their home.

Bees (Apis mellifera) are highly social insects that often live in colonies of about 10,000 to 80,000 bees. Each bee has its role to play and there are three main types of bees: queen, worker and drone. The queen’s job is to lay eggs. Drones are male bees, and their only function is to mate with the queen. Most bees are worker bees and each worker bee has a job to do. Workers build the hive and combs, care for the queen and her larvae, forage for pollen and guard the hive.

Bees are very aware of intruders entering their hive. The smell of honey is attractive to many creatures, from the smallest ant to a large bear. Guard bees protect the entrance to the hive from wasps, robber bees from other colonies, other insects and mammals.

Bees’ main defense is their sting, but they also have other ways of warding off intruders. When a bee stings an intruder, the stinger is left behind, rupturing the bee’s abdomen and causing fatal injury. However, bees have other means of protecting the hive. Sometimes bees form a “bee ball” in which they swarm an insect, suffocating it until it can no longer breathe. A swarm of bees surrounding a creature can also raise the intruder’s body temperature to lethal levels.

When bees kill an insect in the hive, the nurse bees, whose job it is to remove the dead from the hive, will remove the insect’s body. This keeps the hive free of bacteria and parasites and also helps them avoid other predators attracted by the smell of the decaying body. But what can the bees do when the corpse is too big for the nurse bees to remove? Let’s explore the fascinating way bees manipulate mice in their hive.

Mice can sneak into the tiniest of places and are attracted to hives by the smell of honey. When a nest of bees discovers a mouse inside their hive, the bees swarm the mouse. They will either sting the mouse repeatedly until it dies, or they will sting the mouse around it, suffocating it to death. Once the rodent is dead, the body is too heavy for worker bees to lift and remove from the hive. But leaving a body to decompose in the hive could lead to other animals and insects being attracted to the hive by the smell. Degradation can also introduce disease into the colony.

The bees do not let the mouse rot; instead, it mummifies his body. Bees produce a substance called propolis that they make from resins collected from a variety of trees and plants, including poplars, conifers, and other sources. Propolis, also known as bee glue, has antibacterial, antifungal and preservative properties. Bees use it to line the inner walls of the hive, protecting themselves from pathogens.

In addition to construction, bees use propolis to cover a dead mouse, applying it layer by layer over the body. When layering is complete, the mouse’s body is encased in substance and is essentially mummified. Now the dead mouse will be largely preserved and protected from rapid decay, allowing it to remain in the hive without causing significant problems.

Not only bees use propolis. Humans have been collecting and using propolis from bees for centuries for its wound healing attributes. Today, evidence suggests that propolis has anti-inflammatory properties, and people use it to treat various ailments, such as cold sores, wounds, and fungal infections.

In order for bees to stay healthy and safe, they need to spot intruders as soon as possible. Typically, guard bees can immediately detect an intruder using chemical cues such as pheromones. However, there is a time in the winter when bees form a cluster around their queen to keep warm. Shivering bees alternately flap their wings to generate heat. The group stays together in one part of the hive, eating honey in a group. Unfortunately, this leaves portions of the hive empty and unguarded.

If a mouse or mice find their way inside the hive during this time, they may go undetected. Just like in your home, mice can do a lot of damage inside a hive in a short amount of time. Mice will eat honey and bee larvae and also cause physical damage to the hive. They clear space to make their own nest and eat the honeycomb. Beekeepers will often install mouse guards or other protection to protect their hives from rodent damage during the winter.

The post Do you think bees just sting? The shocking truth about Hive Intruders appeared first on AZ Animals.