Groomer honeybees can boost a colony’s immunity by clearing deadly parasites off their nestmates using their mandibles, a study has found. For a short period of their lives, some worker bees take on the role of removing debris including dangerous pests from other members of the colony. These bees – dubbed allogroomers – develop a … Read more
There is a war going on in nature – murderous Asian hornets are invading honeybee hives, and are decapitating the insects and feeding the bodies to their young. However, Japanese honeybees have developed a counter attack that cooks the predators to death. Called ‘hot defensive bee balls,’ more than 500 workers bees surround the hornets … Read more
Honey bees in the UK are increasingly suffering at the hands of a deadly viral disease that is sweeping England and Wales, according to a new study. British scientists found colonies of the honey bee that are infected with ‘chronic bee paralysis’ rose nearly 200-fold between 2007 and 2017. Whole colonies are frequently lost to … Read more