Colony Defence and Natural Enemies

This chapter discusses in detail individual honeybees fending off an enemy and the effects that can be rendered when whole colony defence is a coordinated, social effort. Enemies extend from viruses to bears. Whatever the predator, the nesting styles and nests of the bees afford a first line of defence. These are supplemented by various weapons, including stings, mandibles, legs and wings – variously used to grasp, pull, bite and sting opponents. The real defence game involves a panoply of colonial displays: hissing, shimmering, abdomen-shaking, body-twisting and rearing-up, which, if needs be, leads to socially organised defence: the awesome attacks which end in death by stinging and/or over-heating and asphyxiation by balling. The outstanding effectiveness of nest defence in honeybees is not so much based on the faculties of individual bees, but on the social coordination between thousands of individuals.