The Apis cerana japonica, a subspecies of the eastern bee, commonly known as the Japanese bee, is very dynamic and as soon as it detects the presence of an enemy, such as a wasp, a bee of another species, or an ant, it mobilizes to protect its hive.
Previous research has revealed that bees use their wings to drive away pests, emit light to confuse predators, “dance,” or form a ball and increase their body temperature in response to threats.
A team of environmentalists from the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan has now observed that bees of this species deliver a slap to prevent an ant from entering their nest when it approaches.
In their study, published in the journal Ecology, the three scientists Yugo Seko, Kiyohito Morii, and Yoshiko Sakamoto recorded the behavior of Japanese bees using high-definition cameras and then analyzed the results in slow motion.
Photo: Ecology
The bees captured on video used their wings to drive away the small invaders by hitting them as hard as they could with either one or both wings.
The… victim appears in the video approaching the hive, likely searching for food. At that moment, the ant species Tetramorium tsushimae, typical of Japan, not only fails to complete its mission, but also receives a fierce slap from the bee.
The slow-motion footage (slowed down up to forty times) reveals the reality: The worker bees turn towards the insect, strike it hard, and the ant, spinning in the air, ends up on the ground.
Of course, this method does not always prove effective, as in some cases the ant “freezes” in place, prompting the bee to repeat the… slap, or when the ant is larger, the hit is not enough to drive it away from the hive.
According to previous studies, some bee species prevent ants from entering the hive by “pushing” the insects away using the air created by the movement of their wings. However, for the first time, direct contact of the wings with the invaders is recorded, resulting in their immediate removal.
“This new behavior of wing slapping proves to be the primary method used by Japanese bees to defend against invading ants. The results of this study provide significant insights into the evolution of defensive behaviors of bees in various parts of the world,” the scientists state.