Asian bees (Apis sirana) Not just in the eyes of flowers. In some areas, it is even on the craving for poo.
When threatened by giant horn species (Vespa Soror) – Closely related to killing horns – According to a study on Vietnamese bee hives, workers will fly around the entrance to their structure to collect fresh animals for careful sniffing.
It is not yet clear how this dung actually protects the colony, but in the field, it stops scouting the Hornet from chewing in the structure and causing mass slaughter.
“We argue A sera Fodder for animal feces because it has properties that repel these deadly predators from the entrance of the nest, gives the first report of the use of the tool by bees and the first evidence that they forage for solid matter grown from plants, ”the researchers wrote.
Scientists have known for many years how to use tools in a bee lab, but such skills have never been seen in natural skills other than plants.
While the true bee plant collects substances, including nectar, pollen, and plant resins, to form its structures, it is not technically considered a tool use (although some scientists disagree with such an arbitrary distinction).
Traditionally, the definition of a tool requires finding an object externally, in order to give it a purpose before modifying it. Rather than welding this newly aligned material, the animal should then determine the direction of the object to make it the most effective.
‘Fecal spotting’, or the smell of dung on the nests, marks all these boxes and is the first clear cut example of a bee using a tool of nature.
For Asian honeybees, the authors say it is a significant weapon in an “already sophisticated portfolio of defense” against a formidable enemy.
Wide horny quality, V Soror, Is the most common and major killer of native bees in South Asia. On their own, some species of giant horns can catch and kill thousands of bees in just a few hours. In swarms, they can sometimes carry whole nests.
Unfortunately, giant hornets in Asia cannot be chased by poisonous bites alone. Often, these predators are so large and well-equipped that the worker bee venom will not stop at all.
We already know that bees have developed a unique alarm system against hornets – where worker bees will retreat to their nests and warn others with pheromones if they draw horns.
This stimulates hundreds of colonial members to gather at the entrance and move around the invader, vibrating enough that it gets hot and eventually threatens to kill.
It seems that using their pup at the entrance could be another effective technique.
When researchers introduced giant hornets or chemicals marking their structure into the field, bees began decorating or ‘spotting’ their nest entrances into its beeswax and other dirt. Entrance, either as beaded spots or dung iles throat.
Once the attacks stop, the bees keep it for several days.
Second, bees dance “Emergency” outside their hive entrance when threatened by horns, and these little jigs also see the tide in the smell of the entrance as others can find protection in nature.
Interestingly enough, though, this only happens if attacked by a colony V Soror Horns, or if colonized it is presented with chemicals that mark the structure of a particular predator.
When attacked by another, less lethal and smaller types of giant hornets (Of V Value) – one that rarely attacks germs and usually catches individual bees outside the nest – no fecal odor was observed on the bee structure.
Further research will be needed to figure out exactly how these dung spots really prevent hungry hornets. For example, these impurities may contain harmful compounds that repel predators from nests, or they may mask the chemical markers of scouting hornets. It is clear that the group seems to be working.
Without corn for fresh dung and dirt, studies suggest that Asian bee colonies will be more susceptible to giant hornet attacks in Vietnam.
“Hornet was less likely to visit and chew at its entrance in a medium or heavy-grained colony on its hive, which was the only entry point for attackers,” the authors write.
“If the hornets landed on a hive, in moderate to heavy locations, landing near the entrance or chewing on it significantly reduced the time for breaking the structure of the hornets.”
The study was published in Plus One.
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