Bees now like meat, we repeat - bees now like meat! In an evolutionary surprise, some bees have developed the ability to enjoy meat, leaving behind their age-old love for plant-based food.
Known as "vulture bees," they have unique microbes in their tummies that allow them to digest meat. The same bacteria is found in vultures and hyenas, notorious for their meat-loving tendencies.
Entomologists from the University of California, Riverside recently went on a mission to understand vulture bees. To attract the bees, scientists left chicken baits in a forest in Costa Rica.
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The vulture bees came running in! Officially categorised as "Trigona necrophaga," these are the only bees in the world to be able to eat meat. Doug Yanega, co-author of the study called it a "pretty remarkable change in dietary habits" in conversation with Gizmodo.
Usually, pollen-loving bees have tiny pockets to store the powdery substance. These vulture bees use the same pockets as baskets of meat.
As opposed to vegetarian bees and partially carnivorous bees, vulture bees possess a distinctive bacteria to digest meat. This is also found in vultures and hyenas, who love eating meat. The decaying flesh of dead animals is devoured by vulture bees on a daily unlike their close relatives who prefer to feast on pollen.
Bees are essentially becoming carnivorous to deal with shortage of nectar. Yep, enter climate change! As natural habitats get erased by unfettered capitalism and bees start dying at an alarming rate, these bees have decided to change their diet instead of perishing.
Also read:?Bee Populations Are Dying: Humans And Science Need To Act Fast To Save Bees
Are humans safe? Hmmm, so far! But if we keep messing up with their natural habitats and graze down every last forest, zombie bees may soon not remain a bad movie plot.
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Citation
Schultz, I. (2021, November 23). Flesh-Eating Bees Renounced Pollen for Rotting Meat. Gizmodo.?