Bees defend their nest against intruders that come in. Most want to steal the honey that the bees were gathering all summer. Sadly, every time a bee stings an intruder, the bee gives up its own life to help the colony survive. What researchers do not tell you is that for bees, life is hard and gathering nectar is not easy.
However, there are free loaders known as drones that do no work, and those are kicked out of the hive. Also, there are other insects such as wasps. Those intruders will enter the hive to steal honey, but the bees usually attack as soon as
the
wasps sneak
in.
Bees realize that they cannot share their resources with wasps. Otherwise, when winter comes, there will not be enough honey for the colony to survive. Actually, some
bees will rob honey from other colonies, typically, colonies that are weak and their defenses are poor.
Often wasps will dart around not knowing where to go. Bees are familiar with the hive and where the entrance is, but crooks (wasps) do not know the area. This prowling behavior helps to tip off the bees, as they detect a stranger sneaking in.
After thieves snatch honey from the colony, they will come back and rob some more. Most will leave signs. For example, combs ripped up. Typically, they will keep coming until all the honey is gone. When that happens, pilferers will look for another colony that is weak and does not guard its entrance from bandit bees or wasps.
Bees will kill intruder wasps for many reasons. Here is the main one: If a wasp is allowed to escape, it will recruit more wasps. Then a swarm of wasps will attack the bee colony. They will go where the pickings are good and the defenses are poor.
Beekeepers will block off the entrance to a bee colony to only a tiny hole so it is easier for guard bees to defend and harder for wasps to get in. Also, if a wasp does get in, the bees can trap it with ease. Frankly, the wasp is new in town and does not know where the honey is.
However, if the wasp escapes; it will alert its comrades and they will come back as an enormous swarm. They will attempt to kill all the guard bees so they can take the honey and other resources.
When wasps overwhelm the defenses and kill all the bees in a hive, they will then take the honey and use bee corpses to feed their own young. Basically, wasps do not make honey, but live as predators killing bees and other insects.
Intruders do not help the hive in any way. They know they are not welcome and often will use tactics such as hit and run. Bees have to defend themselves, and if the wasps continue to attack, they will send in a swarm. Those will fly to the nest of their adversaries and kill all the wasps.
Mostly, bees want to live in peace. However, they must prepare for war. If the bees do not prepare, the result is that the wasps will destroy the colony. Bees that do not protect their honey will not survive. All is well during the long warm summer; however, there are no flowers when winter comes, so the hive has to survive from its stored reserves -- honey.
Robbing usually gets worse as nectar sources start to dry up. Fall is the time when bees face the greatest challenge as then there will be a lot of hungry intruders that want to sneak in. These are looking for honey and pollen to swipe.
Stealing is a lot easier than working. Bandit bees will therefore specialize in snatch and grab attacks against weaker colonies as this uses less energy. Often beekeepers will breed bees to not rob honey as this trait is a bad one to possess.
Bees that are lazy and do not gather enough honey will not survive. They only have a few months in summer when there are a lot of nectar sources. What this means is that they have to decide on what portion of bees will collect nectar for the colony and what portion will defend it from illegal aliens that want to sneak in.
Aliens will not do tasks such as guarding the hive, as theft is their purpose. Only when the hive is in danger, will you see where their true alliance is. If the hive is hit by an attack from a mammal, such as a mouse, these unwelcome strangers will fly away. Hornets and wasps do not care. All they want is to steal as much honey as they can. Fate of the colony is not their
concern.
Can we learn a lesson from nature? Look at the article on the right.
Lessons from Insects
People can learn lessons from insects. For example, the bible says:
Proverbs 6:6
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Often we hear the phrase “busy as a bee.”
Why are bees so busy? They are gathering honey for when winter comes. Decisions you make now will determine if you survive. Hey, even foolish squirrels gather nuts before it snows. Likewise we should do the same.
Instead, important officials tell us that preparing for emergencies is crazy.
You can be sure that they will pass laws against “hoarding” to prevent citizens from having more than a few
cans of food. Authority figures want total control, and they tell you to not worry. After all, they
say that everything is fine and people who stockpile food suffer from paranoia.
Not only should you gather items, you should also protect your resources, as bees do. That way, they will be available when necessary. Ants spend a lot of time gathering grain in summer. They are ready when snow comes.
All of us can learn from the insect world about how important it is to protect our
borders. Basically, you must build a large barrier and allow only a tiny opening. This entrance must be heavily guarded, and only members of the
"colony" be allowed in, like a gated community. Those bugs that sneak in do so for a reason. It is to steal the colony’s precious resources.
Bees store up honey for the cold winter when the pickings are poor. They must plan ahead, and so should we. Golden honey can keep many years. It is the equivalent of gold metal for humans. Bees process flower nectar (which would normally
ferment) into golden honey, and they cover it with a wax cap. They use long term storage as a strategy to survive.
If the winter is harsh and the bees did not store up enough honey, the hive will be dead in spring. Often a swarm will find the empty hive and move in. Let that be a lesson to us.
I still remember seeing a bee swarm build their nest in the branches of a tree. They did not survive when winter came. All was fine in the warm summer. When fall came, they formed a ball of bees in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Foolish bees do not build up their defenses and pay an enormous price.
However, most bees tend to look for a hollow tree that protects them from intruders, and if the entrance hole is too big, they will use propolis to make it smaller in size. We in America have a policy of open borders, letting all the enemies sneak in. If this continues, we will pay with the loss of our country, as the enemies multiply within us.
Nahum 3:12-13 All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit-- When shaken, they fall into the eater's mouth. Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your
door locks.
The key is to have a nation that is well protected and easy to defend if the
"wasps" declare war. Let me tell you, wasps will recruit more
wasps to attack a bee hive if they find that the defenses are weak.
Illegal aliens do the same. Most will send money to their home countries
and try to get friends to join them in pillaging all free social
programs.
Let us learn a lesson from insects as they have much to teach us.
