How do bees protect themselves from predators?
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How Bees Protect Themselves from Predators
Bees have evolved a variety of sophisticated defense mechanisms to protect their colonies from predators. These strategies range from chemical signaling to physical combat and even the use of tools. Below, we explore the key defense tactics employed by different bee species.
Alarm Pheromones and Collective Defense
Alarm Pheromone Release
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) utilize alarm pheromones to coordinate their defense against predators. When a threat is detected, guard bees release these chemicals to recruit other bees to the site of the threat. This pheromone release triggers both immediate and long-term behavioral changes in nearby bees, priming them for defense1 7. The concentration of the alarm pheromone increases during an attack, enhancing the collective response and leading to mass stinging of the predator10.
Context-Dependent Defense Strategies
The defensive behavior of honeybees can vary depending on the context of the threat. For instance, when facing European wasps (Vespula germanica), honeybees adapt their response based on the severity of the attack. Individual bees often recruit nestmates to fend off the wasps, and in some cases, they employ collective balling behavior to overwhelm the predator4.
Physical and Behavioral Defenses
Guard Bees and Vigilance
Guard bees play a crucial role in colony defense by maintaining vigilance around the nest entrance. In some species, such as Tetragonisca angustula, guards hover and distribute themselves evenly around the entrance, increasing their field of view and ability to detect predators5. This organized pattern of vigilance enhances the colony's overall defensive capabilities.
Heat Balling
Asian honeybees (Apis cerana) have developed a unique thermal defense mechanism known as "hot defensive bee ball formation." When a giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) attacks, worker bees surround the predator and generate heat up to 46°C, effectively killing it. However, this behavior comes at a cost, as participating bees experience a reduced life expectancy9.
Tool Use and Nest Architecture
Fecal Spotting
In an extraordinary display of tool use, Apis cerana workers have been observed foraging for animal feces and applying it around their nest entrances. This behavior is specifically aimed at deterring giant hornets (Vespa soror) from attacking the colony. The fecal spots repel the hornets, reducing the likelihood of them breaching the nest2.
Nest Site and Architecture
The choice of nest site and architecture also plays a significant role in defense. For example, Apis florea builds its nests low on branches in dense vegetation, making them difficult for predators to find. In contrast, Apis dorsata constructs large, exposed nests high in forest trees, which are protected by layers of bees that form a defensive curtain3.
Coevolution with Predators
Evolutionary Arms Race
The relationship between honeybees and their predators, such as hornets, is a classic example of coevolution. Both predators and prey have developed specialized adaptations to counter each other's strategies. For instance, hornets have evolved to detect bee pheromones, while bees have developed collective defense responses to deter or kill the hornets8.
Adaptation to Invasive Species
The introduction of invasive hornet species, such as Vespa velutina and Vespa mandarinia, into new geographic areas has disrupted the balance achieved through coevolution. Western honeybees, which lack the evolved defenses of their Asian counterparts, are particularly vulnerable to these new threats8.
Conclusion
Bees employ a diverse array of defense mechanisms to protect their colonies from predators. These strategies include the release of alarm pheromones, physical combat, tool use, and strategic nest architecture. The ongoing evolutionary arms race between bees and their predators continues to shape these behaviors, highlighting the complexity and adaptability of bee defense systems.
Sources and full results
Most relevant research papers on this topic
The defensive response of the honeybee Apis mellifera
Honeybees effectively defend their nests against various predators and parasites, utilizing specialized workers and a complex social organization to achieve a trade-off between defense and foraging workforce loss.
Literature Review
Rigorous Journal
Highly CitedHoney bees (Apis cerana) use animal feces as a tool to defend colonies against group attack by giant hornets (Vespa soror)
Honey bees use animal feces as a tool to defend their colonies against group attacks by giant hornets, effectively repelling this deadly predator from nest entrances.
Rigorous JournalColony Defense Strategies of the Honeybees in Thailand
Each of the three honeybee species in Thailand has adapted unique colony defense strategies based on worker size, nest site, and predation stages.
Highly CitedAgonistic interactions between the honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica) and the European wasp (Vespula germanica) reveal context-dependent defense strategies
Honeybees can adapt their defense strategies to match the severity of the threat and the context of the attack, resulting in less damage to their nests and less disturbance to their foraging activities.
Observational StudyRigorous JournalOrganization enhances collective vigilance in the hovering guards of Tetragonisca angustula bees
The hovering guards of Tetragonisca angustula bees coordinate their vigilance, increasing nest defense by increasing their field of view and ability to detect predators.
Rigorous JournalAerial defense of the nest by workers of the stingless bee Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustula (Latreille) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
The stingless bee Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustula has evolved a sophisticated defense strategy against flying predators, with worker bees hovering in front of the nest entrance to attack intruders and act as an alarm kairomone during raids by Lestrimelit
Honeybee communication during collective defence is shaped by predation
Honeybees' evolved response-pattern to alarm pheromone concentrations leads to better coordination during collective defense, enhancing their collective performance against predators.
Rigorous JournalHornets and Honey Bees: A Coevolutionary Arms Race between Ancient Adaptations and New Invasive Threats
The coevolutionary arms race between hornets and honey bees has resulted in complex adaptations and counteradaptations, but new invasive hornet species can threaten this fragile balance.
Literature ReviewRigorous JournalDouble-edged heat: honeybee participation in a hot defensive bee ball reduces life expectancy with an increased likelihood of engaging in future defense
Participation in hot defensive bee ball formation by Asian honeybees reduces life expectancy, but experience with the behavior increases their likelihood to engage in future defenses.
Observational Study
Very Rigorous JournalHoneybee communication during collective defence is shaped by predation
Honeybees' collective defense response to alarm pheromone is shaped by predator density, with initial aggressiveness increasing as concentrations rise, but dropping back when very high concentrations are reached.
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