Bees make honey from nectar right? Well not all bees. There is one type of bee – the Vulture bee – that makes its honey from rotting flesh.
The Freaky has always considered the real world as strange and freaky as any sci-fi world and vulture bees are further proof of this. Vulture bees (or Trigona necrophaga to use their scientific name) can be found across Central and South America. Rather than flitting from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen these bees prefer to feast on dead animals to create “meat honey.”
Vulture bees burrow into the eyes of the decaying corpses and harvest the rotting flesh. They then carry their harvest back to the hive in a special stomach compartment. At the hive they vomit it up and worker bees, using special digestive enzymes, convert it into “meat honey” a honey like substance that is stored and used to feed the hive.
The resulting “honey” is not the sweet nectar-based product we know but rather a unique, meat-derived substance.
These carnivorous bees have stronger teeth and jaws than their vegetarian cousins. Even so they are tiny and not strong enough to chew through flesh which is why, like maggots, they enter the corpse through the eye sockets.
When a bee finds a corpse they release pheromones that alert other bees to their food find. It is said that they can strip all the meat away from the carcass of a small mammal in a few hours.
Researchers at U Cal Riverside, after bringing meat they scavenge and store in little bags on their body, they store the meat in a separate chamber from the honey for 2 weeks.
By consuming carrion, vulture bees act as scavengers, contributing to nutrient recycling in their ecosystems. This role is analogous to that of vultures or other decomposers, making them important players in their habitats.
Perhaps nit surprisingly then that researchers have found that the bees have a micro-biome of bacteria near identical to Vultures, Hyena, or other carrion species!
What does vulture bee honey taste like?
According to reports, the honey itself isn’t dangerous. It’s edible, though it reportedly has a tangy or sour flavor due to the fermentation and microbial processes involved in its creation.
Vulture bees have piqued the curiosity of entomologists and naturalists due to their evolutionary divergence from typical nectar-collecting bees. Their adaptation to a carnivorous lifestyle showcases nature’s incredible ability to diversify and find niches in unexpected places.
While the idea of meat honey might not be for everyone it’s a testament to the ingenuity of life in adapting to various environmental pressures and resources.
10/2020