Poop As A Tool: A Defensive Approach Of Asian Bees To Repel The Invaders

Asian honey bees are common pest bees slowly spreading throughout the natural range in Australia. Used to produce honey and pollinate crops, these bees have been facing the threat of killer hornets for a long time. But, according to the latest research, Asian honey bees have figured out a new way, or we can say a tool, to defend themselves from the invaders. These hard-working bees have learned how to utilize animal poop as a hindrance against giant hornets as never before seen approaches to keep the intruders from penetrating their hives and butchering everything inside. 

Researchers have seen the (s)crappy new battle tactic among honey bees in Vietnam, as indicated by a study published in PLoS One. As indicated by the study, the Asian honey bees, known as Apis cerana, gathered animal dung and spread it around their home doorways to repulse a giant hornet known as Vespa soror. 

V. soror is around one centimeter smaller than the notorious Asian giant hornet, or "murder hornet," local to eastern Asia and presently threatens North America. However, the two species are known to storm bumble bee provinces forcibly, beheading the grown-ups leaving the nest in ruins by snatching the young honey bees.

Asian honey bees have been confronting the risk of killer hornets for quite a while, and their poop defense is only one of numerous strategies they use to repulse the trespassers. This strategy is extraordinary because it's the primarily recorded proof of honey bees utilizing a tool for "collective defense."

The researchers became dubious when they spotted honey bees humming around bison, pig and chicken excrement on ranches in Vietnam. So the group of researchers set up cameras around the nearby honey bees' homes and recorded their conduct for a long time. The recordings demonstrated that the honey bees were purposely assembling the crap to repulse the hornets. 

Specialists say the honey bees will gather poop after an experience with a hornet scout, or in the wake of smelling the compound, the hornets check a home for the attack. Honey bees assemble whatever defecation they can discover, then, at that point, spot it around the doorways to their home. 

The Hornets don't stay once they see the crap on the honey bees' doorstep, maybe because they don’t want to eat where others have pooped. 

Asian honey bees have created different strategies for battling giant hornets. In some cases, they will crowd over an intruder and vibrate their bodies quickly, warming up the adversary until they cook it to death. 

The Asian honey bees have fostered these strategies due to the "strong selective pressure” presented by giant hornets. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the situation for honey bees in North America, where the Asian giant hornet has begun to acquire traction along the West Coast. Specialists dread the alleged "murder hornets" will tear through North America's honey bees since they don't have the simple idea of how to shield themselves. 

According to Mr. Basem Barry, CEO & founder of Geohoney, all these things ask a more considerable inquiry for North American beekeepers: How would you prepare a state to battle? Or how would you prepare honey bees to battle and kill with crap? This will require more follow-up field studies that analyze the acoustic signs shared by worker bees when they are enduring an onslaught by hornets. We hope this study will benefit the honey bees and help reduce the population decline of these essential pollinators.