Track Order
Lifespan Of Honey Bees
Increased Aggression and Reduced Aversive Learning: Knowing The Causes Behind This Problem
What is Honey? Why Geohoney? 
Honey Worldwide 
Bees Also Dance And Dream: Some Interesting Facts About Them 
Facts About Honey Bee Queen 
Global Honey Statistics 
Significance Of Pollination In Beekeeping 
Hive Management in Beekeeping 
Honey & Beeswax Extraction in Beekeeping 
Honey Bee Queen in Beekeeping 
Difference Between Honeycombs & Bee Nests 
Polyfloral Honey 
Monofloral Honey 
Amazing Facts of Honey Bee 
Types of Honey Bees 
Plants & Flowers Producing True Honey 
Bee Keeping In Honey Business 
Honey Glossary 
Anotomy of Honey Bee 
Colonies of Honey Bee 
Honey Preservation: Best Practices That Keeps It Healthy For A Longer Time 
Undiscovered Secrets of World Best Honey 
Ways Of Attracting Honey Bees 
How To Protect Honey Bees in Beekeeping? 
Pollination by Honey Bees 
Fascinating Honey Bee Dance 
Honey Beekeeping Tips For Beginners 
Ancient Significance of Honey Bees 
Incredible Body Structure of Honey Bees 
Significance Of Honey Bee Garden 
Beekeeping in India 
Honey Bee Health Issues: Potential Reasons Of Bee Colony Collapse 
Details of Honey Bee Trap 
Best Plants For Honey Bees 
Honey Bee Farming 
Honey Bee Swarms 
Knowing The Adverse Impacts Of Climate Change On Flowering Plants And Bees 
Honey Bee Farming As A Hobby: A Great Step To Minimize The Decrease Of Honey Bee Population 
An Overview On Medicinal Benefits Of Raw Honey 
Fruitful Trees For The Lovely Bees That Help Producing The Best Honey 
Bee Honey: History Of This Natural Sweetener As Food, As Medicine & In Culture 
Complex Chemistry Behind Natures Best Superfood Honey 
Wonderful Facts About Honey Bees That Are Sure To Fascinate The Kids 
Monofloral Honey: 7 Best Types And Their Never-Ending Benefits 
Increased Aggression and Reduced Aversive Learning: Knowing The Causes Behind This Problem 
Everything About The Numerous Varieties Of Honey Available All Around The World & Their Holistic Benefits 
Becoming A Beekeeper Is A New Career Option To Protect The Little Bees & Ecosystem 
An All-Inclusive Guide To Learn How And Where To Build Up Your Own Honey Bee Colonies 
Apiculture – All You Need To Know About Its Importance In Human Lives 
The Apidae Family: Everything You Need To Know About This Honey Bees Specie 
Veterinary Diagnostic Of Honey Bee Diseases: A Valuable Approach To Save Little Pollinators 
Exploring The Amazing Honey Varieties Produced By Little Honey Bees 
Beekeeping As A Hobby: Myths That Are Must To Avoid 
Knowing How Caffeine Can Boost Bees Focus? 
Knowing Everything About The Fascinating Honey Bee Biology 
Types Of Bees - Diet, Habitat And Their Impact 
Honey Bees Have The Amazing Ability To Learn Odd & Even Numbers - Read More! 
Are Honey Bees Helping The Environment? Let's Know The Truth! 
Video Recordings Are A New Way Of Understanding Rare Honey Bee Behaviors 
Honey & Its Importance In Different World Religions 
Natural Honey - Its Neurological Effect Is Worth Knowing! 
Acacia Honey: Characterization Of This Popular Honey Based On Physicochemical Parameters And Chemometrics 
Prevalence Of Honey Bees In Ancient Art & Human History 
Increasing Sickness Rate Of Wild Bumble Bees – What's The Key Factor? 
Bees Can Search And Remember Flowers Just Like Humans: Know How! 
Swarming Bees: What Is It All About And Are They Dangerous? 
Honey Bees Are In Love With Small Urban Gardens – Know Why? 
Himalayan Salt Lamps – A Detailed Info 
Bee Pollen - Composition, Uses and Benefits Of This Healthy Bee Product 
Buckwheat Honey - Know All About This Unique Flavored Honey 
Honey Bees - Diving Into The World Of Lovely Pollinators 
Royal Jelly - Surprising Health Benefits Of This Wonderful Bee Product 
What Is The Secret Behind The Hexagonal Shape Of Honeycomb Cells? 
Memory Formation In Bees – They Can Remember Exact Odors Soon After A Single Learning Experience 
Importance Of Social Networks In Studying Life Of The Honey Bees 
Uncovering The Hidden Superpowers Of Honey Bees 
What Is More Interesting Than Honey In A Beehive? 
African Beekeepers Teach Great Ways To Build Strong Bee Colonies 
How Bees And Birds Beneficial In Coffee Farming? 
Common Weed Killer – Good For Animals But Bad For The Bees! 
Asymmetrical Development Of Bees Wings Is Due To Climate Stress 
Environmental Threats And Concerns On Bees 
Bumble Bees Play With Toys and Might Even Enjoy It 
Biodiversity and Habitat Quality affects Bee Health 
Introduction to Bee Venom Therapy: A General Overview of What Bee Venom Therapy is? 
Honey in Folklore and Mythology 
The Role of Carniolan Honey Bees in Agricultural Ecosystems 
How Honey Bees Communicate Through Chemical Signals 
Exploring the World of Himalayan Salt Lamps 
Bumble Bees Warm Up While Carrying Pollen 
Carpenter Bees Unearthing Intriguing Insights 
Mason Bee Detection and Qualities 
Characteristics of Africanized Honey Bees 
Propolis: The Power of Beekeeping 
Climate Change: A Work in Progress 
A Comprehensive Guide to the Tawny Mining Bee 
Bee-Friendly Farming Practices 
The Comprehensive Guide to Honeybee Diseases and Pests 
History of Honeybee Domestication 
Traditional and Modern Use of Raw Honey in Medicine 
Historical Insights and Potential Future of the Global Honey Industry 
The Bees Knees: Exploring Honey in the Digital Age 
Honeycombs Role in Rituals and Research 
Organic Sugar: Beyond Just a Sweetener Social Distancing is now seen even in Honeybees
Reading Time: 2 minutes, 31 seconds Post Views: 1705Honeybees show the characteristic of social distancing, just like us during COVID-19. This happens when their hive is susceptible to threats from the parasite. The fascinating behaviour was found in a new study done by a team of researchers at UCL & University of Sassari, Italy.
The study was published in Science Advances, which demonstrated the response of honeybee colonies when they were infested with a harmful mite. Where, by modifying the usage of space & interactions among nestmates, they increased the distance between the old and young bees.
Dr. Alessandro Cini at UCL Biosciences said that “Honeybees are social animals, which get benefitted by dividing responsibilities and interactions like mutual grooming. But, when such social activities can pose the risk of infection, the bees seem to have evolved a mechanism of social distancing, to balance the benefits & risks.”
Examples of social distancing can be seen among animals of very different species, which are separated by the evolution of over a million years. Ranging from ants infected with pathogenic fungi to baboons with gastrointestinal infections.
This new study assessed, if the residence of ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor in the colonies of honeybees, induces a change in their social organisation. In order to reduce the outspread of the parasite inside the hive. Varroa mite is among the major stress factors that can affect honeybees. It causes various harmful effects on bees, at both colony and individual levels, including virus transmission.
The colonies of honeybees are organised into 2 main compartments. Where the outer is inhabited by foragers and the inner is inhabited by the queen, brood, and nurses. This kind of spatial arrangement leads to low-frequency interactions between both the compartments and thereby facilitates the protection of the most valuable like the queen, brood, and babies from the outside environment. Therefore, even with the arrival of diseases.
With the help of comparing colonies, which were not and were infested by Varroa mites, one behaviour was found by researchers. The process of foraging dances occurred less frequently in central areas of the hive, after being infested, as it can increase mite transmission. Moreover, they even found that grooming behaviours were more prominent in the central hive. As per researchers, older bees or foragers move towards the periphery of the hive, whereas, the groomer bees move closer to the centre, in regards to an infestation, to build distance between 2 groups.
The lead author of the research said, “The observation of increased social distance between the bee groups, infested by the same parasite, represents a new aspect about how honeybees have undergone evolution to fight parasites and pathogens.”
“The ability to adapt social structure along with reducing contact among themselves in response to an infection threat, allows them to increase their benefits of social interactions, wherever possible, and minimise the risk of disease threat when required.”
With this research, honeybee colonies give us an ideal model to study social distancing behaviour and fully understand the effectiveness and value of the same.
Comments (7)
The study demonstrated how honeybees respond to an infestation from a harmful mite.
SOCIAL DISTANCING FOR BEES? MAYBE AN STRATEGY TO LIMIT THE SPREAD OF THE PARASITES.
This is also, a response to some infectious diseases to counteract the spread of pathogens and parasites.
Now we know that these bees have their social distancing also, and as a reaction to some environmental factors.
It is very fascinating to know this thing about bees on how they react to the environment as well as the threats.
This is how they react when their hive is under threats.
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Being threatened by dozens of pests, and diseases bee colonies might benefit from constitutive organizational immunity.