An obscure species of tropical bee has actually developed an additional tooth for biting flesh and a gut that more closely looks like that of vultures instead of other bees.
Generally, bees do not consume meat. However, a species of stingless bee in the tropics has actually developed the capability to do so, presumably due to intense competition for nectar.
The baits successfully attracted vulture bees and associated species that opportunistically feed on meat for their protein. Generally, stingless bees have baskets on their hind legs for gathering pollen. The group observed carrion-feeding bees using those very same structures to collect the bait. The researchers noted that these bees are unusual in a number of methods. “Even though they cant sting, theyre not all defenseless, and lots of species are completely unpleasant,” Yanega stated.
” These are the only bees worldwide that have actually progressed to use food sources not produced by plants, which is a pretty amazing modification in dietary habits,” stated UC Riverside entomologist Doug Yanega.
Honeybees, bumblebees, and stingless bees have guts that are colonized by the same five core microorganisms. “Unlike human beings, whose guts alter with every meal, a lot of bee types have actually kept these same bacteria over roughly 80 million years of evolution,” said Jessica Maccaro, a UCR entomology doctoral trainee.
Given their transformation in food option, a team of UCR scientists questioned whether the vulture bees gut bacteria differed from those of a normal vegetarian bee. They differed rather dramatically, according to a study the team released on November 23, 2021, in the American Society of Microbiologists journal mBio.
Raw chicken baits drawing in vulture bees in Costa Rica. Credit: Quinn McFrederick/UCR
To track these changes, the researchers went to Costa Rica, where these bees are known to reside. They set up baits– fresh pieces of raw chicken suspended from branches and smeared with petroleum jelly to prevent ants.
The baits successfully brought in vulture bees and related types that opportunistically feed on meat for their protein. Generally, stingless bees have baskets on their hind legs for collecting pollen. The team observed carrion-feeding bees utilizing those same structures to collect the bait. “They had little chicken baskets,” stated Quinn McFrederick, a UCR entomologist.
For comparison, the team also collected stingless bees that feed both on meat and flowers, and some that feed just on pollen. On examining the microbiomes of all three bee types, they found the most extreme modifications among unique meat-feeders.
” The vulture bee microbiome is enhanced in acid-loving germs, which are novel bacteria that their family members dont have,” McFrederick said. “These bacteria are comparable to ones discovered in actual vultures, along with hyenas and other carrion-feeders, presumably to assist safeguard them from pathogens that reveal up on carrion.”
Among the germs present in vulture bees is Lactobacillus, which remains in a lot of people fermented food, like sourdough. They were likewise discovered to harbor Carnobacterium, which is associated with flesh food digestion.
” Its crazy to me that a bee can eat dead bodies. We could get ill from that because of all the microorganisms on meat competing with each other and launching toxic substances that are very bad for us,” Maccaro stated.
Individual from the Trigona family of stingless bees, a few of which consume meat. Credit: Ricardo Ayala
The scientists kept in mind that these bees are unusual in a variety of ways. “Even though they cant sting, theyre not all unprotected, and many types are completely undesirable,” Yanega stated. “They vary from species that are truly innocuous to numerous that bite, to a couple of that produce blister-causing secretions in their jaws, causing the skin to emerge in unpleasant sores.”
In addition, though they feed upon meat, their honey is reportedly still sweet and edible. “They store the meat in unique chambers that are sealed for 2 weeks prior to they access it, and these chambers are separate from where the honey is stored,” Maccaro stated.
The research team is preparing to dig even more into vulture bee microbiomes, wishing to discover about the genomes of all bacteria in addition to fungi and viruses in their bodies.
Ultimately, they wish to discover more about the bigger function that microorganisms play in total bee health.
” The weird things worldwide are where a lot of intriguing discoveries can be found,” McFrederick said. “Theres a great deal of insight there into the results of natural selection.”
Recommendation: “Why Did the Bee Eat the Chicken? Symbiont Gain, Loss, and Retention in the Vulture Bee Microbiome” by Laura L. Figueroa, Jessica J. Maccaro, Erin Krichilsky, Douglas Yanega and Quinn S. McFrederick, 23 November 2021, mBio.DOI: 10.1128/ mBio.02317-21.