Bees are integral to the ecosystem as pollinators, but their presence as a protein-rich food source makes them a desirable target for numerous other species. Despite the defense mechanism of a stinger, the adult bee’s high nutritional value, with its concentrated protein and fat content, attracts a wide variety of predators. This predation pressure acts as a natural check on bee populations, demonstrating the delicate balance of the environment.
Insect Hunters Specialized in Bee Predation
Invertebrate predators pose a specialized threat to individual bees, often using targeted tactics to overcome the stinger. Hornets, such as the European hornet, actively hunt adult bees near the hive entrance or on foraging routes. They use strong mandibles to quickly dispatch the bee, frequently severing the head or wings before carrying the thorax back to their nests to feed their developing larvae. Yellow jackets also raid hives, focusing on scavenging dead or weakened bees and larvae, sometimes coordinating attacks that overwhelm the colony’s guard bees.
Robber flies, also known as assassin flies, are aerial predators that ambush bees in flight. These flies are equipped with a stout, piercing proboscis used to inject paralyzing neurotoxins and digestive enzymes into their captured prey. The bee’s internal tissues are liquefied, allowing the robber fly to consume the contents. Certain solitary wasps, known as beewolves, employ a similar method. They paralyze the bee with a sting and transport the immobilized insect back to their burrow, provisioning it as food for the wasp’s single larva.
Ground Level Ambush Predators
Predators that rely on stealth and patient ambush near flowers or hive entrances pose a contrasting threat. Crab spiders are masters of camouflage, often hiding on flower petals and sometimes changing their body color to match the bloom they occupy. When a bee lands, the spider ambushes the insect, injecting venom to quickly neutralize the prey. This strategy targets bees while they are distracted during foraging activity.
Amphibians like frogs and toads lurk near hive entrances or water sources where bees congregate. These animals use a sudden, rapid flick of their long, sticky tongues to capture bees that fly too close to the ground. Successful captures provide a significant meal for these sit-and-wait predators. The moist, thick skin of amphibians may offer some protection from a stray sting, allowing them to capitalize on the bee’s predictable flight paths.
Avian Hunters That Catch Bees in Flight
Feathered predators specialize in capturing bees in the open air, exhibiting aerial agility and specific techniques for neutralizing the stinger. Birds in the family Meropidae, known as bee-eaters, can spot a bee up to 60 meters away. Upon capture, these birds return to a perch where they repeatedly strike the bee against a hard surface to kill it. This action discharges the venom sac and removes the stinger before the bird swallows its meal.
Other avian hunters include the summer tanager and the western kingbird, which patrol the air near apiaries or foraging areas. The summer tanager, sometimes called the “beebird,” captures bees in flight and then returns to a branch to process the insect. It is often observed wiping or raking the bee against the perch to remove the stinger, demonstrating a learned behavior to avoid being stung.
Mammals That Target the Entire Colony
Larger mammals destroy the hive structure to access the nutrient-dense contents inside. Bears, such as the American black bear and the European brown bear, seek the dual reward of energy-rich honey and protein-packed bee larvae and pupae. Their immense strength allows them to tear apart or topple entire managed hives in minutes to reach the brood comb, causing mass casualty and colony destruction.
Smaller mammals like skunks and raccoons attack colonies, often under the cover of darkness. A common skunk strategy involves scratching the hive entrance, which draws out guard bees that are then quickly consumed. Skunks are often observed rolling the captured bees on the ground before eating them, a technique that may help remove the stinger. Raccoons use their manipulative paws to open the hive and access the honey and larvae. This predation results in significant loss of the colony’s future workforce and food stores, fundamentally impacting the entire social structure.