Earlier today, I published a post on how Japanese honeybees defend themselves from hornets with a mass defence that relies on heat and carbon dioxide. This article was originally written two years ago, and describes the slightly different tactic of Cyprian honeybees.
When Oriental hornets attack, Cyprian honeybees mob them in a huge ball that targets the breathing apparatus in the hornet's abdomen. The hornets can't breathe without expanding their abdomens and with sheer numbers, the bees strangle the hornets to death.
Hornets are giant wasps that pack a powerful sting. To most people, they can be a painful nuisance, but to honeybees, they're killing machines. Hornets greatly outsize and overpower honeybees and a few individuals can decimate entire colonies.
Asian honeybees have developed a remarkable defence called 'heat-balling' against their local hornet, Vespa velutina. A giant ball of bees piles onto the predator, weighing it down while vibrating their ...
