MELBOURNE — When not busy fighting off deadly snakes, killer sharks and venomous spiders, residents of Brisbane, Australia, may have noticed the odd swarm of bees floating around engaging in fierce and deadly battles.
And as the bodies pile up, researchers have started to wonder: what exactly is creating all the buzz? Could it be related to the bees' mating habits? Are the battles sparked by a parasite attack?
As it turns out, the reason for these rolling death-matches is something straight out of ancient Rome. In a study published on Saturday, researchers have demonstrated that various species of stingless Sugarbag bees place a pretty high premium on territory.
So high, in fact, that they're willing to go to war to claim the hives of other colonies.
As the bees are stingless, they inflict damage on their opponents by flying in swarms, colliding midair, wrapping their jaws around one another and then tumbling to the ground in a so-called death grip. And because this proves fatal for both bees, the researchers are led to believe there is some level of strategic thinking at play.
"What is fascinating about this is that the attacking colonies are actually sacrificing bees," Dr Paul Cunningham from the Queensland University of Technology and lead author of the study, told Mashable. "It appears to be a numbers game, with the bees in some way gauging whether they can win, then through multiple attacks on a hive breaking down the defending bees until they eventually make their way in."
Through sustained attacks over several months, the conquering bees slowly but surely take over the hive. They drag worker bees out from the defending colony and then install a daughter of their queen as the new ruler.
"These fights are about hive supremacy," Cunningham said.
The researchers studied a number of hives over five years, culminating in what he says is the first real evidence of these inter-colony battles between Sugarbag bees. Of the 250 hives observed, 46 were found to have been toppled by rival colonies, though the results might just raise as many questions as they answer.
"There's still a lot we'd like to learn," Cunningham said. "We are hoping to look at how these battles are instigated, how the queen is transported and also how the colonies measure each other."