Australian Stingless Bees Build Stunning Spiral Hives and No One's Quite Sure Why

[orleans]

They “inhabit the northern parts of Australia, although on the east coast they reach a bit further south than Sydney[, and occur in other tropical parts of the world[, while t]he Australian species are much smaller than European honey bees.”

"The hives do not resemble those found in other bee populations in a number of ways:

• The hives have an intricate, clockwise spiraling design.

• Each hive features only one entrance.

• The hive entrances are coated with a pathogen-blocking sticky layer, an extra line of defense for the bees which, according to Heard, “do not have a sting although they can give you a little bite with their jaws.”

[pics at link]

https://amp.interestingengineering.com/australian-stingless-bees-build-stunning-spiral-hives-and-no-ones-quite-sure-why?__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR3Mze30YVXntjf5QE5vDfRAkHOS9yj8_UJ7wTSVVPeSMF6RQ4tE8lPL9lo

[Donkees]

1. Photos:

[eppur_se_muova]

2. It's a screw dislocation in a hexagonal lattice !

Probably started out as an error in the usual genes controlling comb-building behavior. It must have some advantage, so it was retained in the genome.

[Donkees]

3. See the Unique Spiral Hives of the Australian Stingless Bee - National Geographic

[Fla Dem]

4. Nature never ceases to amaze!!

[whistler162]

5. Obviously fans of An American in Paris