Who doesn't know and love them? The brown and yellow striped, fluffy, hard-working bees that collect delicate nectar day in and day out and then transform it into sugary-sweet and tasty honey?
Or to put it another way… Who knows her? The vulture bee - a species of bee from the tropical rainforests that collects rotting meat instead of nectar and pollen to make less tasty meat-honey?
We became aware of this topic via a Facebook post from the “Cute Nopes”
We can reassure you at this point. They exist, the carnivorous and carrion-eating bees, BUT you won't be able to buy their honey or you won't be able to taste it!
Special bacteria make it possible
The so-called vulture bee (genus Trigona) has special intestinal microbiomes that are unique among wild bees and contain acid-loving bacteria. Similar to their namesake the vulture, these protect the animals from pathogens that are found in the carrion, while other bacteria enable the digestion of meat, which serves as a necessary source of protein for this type of bee.
meat and honey
The vulture bee collects meat and carrion and stores it in its hive. The easily digested pieces of meat are stored there for two weeks to harden so that they can then be fed to the larvae.
Since the vulture bee has very few or no hairs on its legs, less pollen gets caught on them than with normal honey bees, which makes honey production more difficult, but not impossible.
This apparently particularly sweet honey is stored separately from the meat supply and is not given up by them without a fight. Although vulture bees do not have a stinger, they can still use their mouthparts to inflict painful bites on attackers and cause skin irritation through a caustic secretion secreted through their jaws.
Conclusion
Yes, there is a “vulture bee” that has meat and carrion on its menu.
Although she produces honey, she would never or would only reluctantly give it away voluntarily. So you won't be able to buy a jar of "Meat Honey" in the supermarket.
Source: smithsonianmag , spektrum.de
You might also be interested in: Vivipary – living germination
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