Just when we thought that all the problems with bees were finally solved, along comes a NEW one: wasps that turn bees into zombies. Honeybees that have been parasitized by this wasp have been found the San Francisco Bay area, as well as other parts of California, as well as in South Dakota.
The female wasp injects her eggs into a honeybee’s abdomen, and about seven days later, up to 25 mature fly larvae emerge. In the wild, As many as 13 larvae have been observed busting out of a single honeybee. In both commercial hives and in the wild, infected bees abandon their hives.
They congregate near light sources, where they begin to behave strangely. A normal bee that’s near death will sit in one place and curl up, but these infected bees walk around in circles, and seem disoriented. Often they can’t stand up.
In LiveScience.com, Joseph Castro quotes biologist Andrew Core as saying, "They kept stretching (their legs) out and then falling over. It really painted a picture of something like a zombie."
Colony Collapse Disorder may be killing off the bees, but what’s killing US off is NEGLECT! Don’t take us for granted, or we may not be here the next time you fire up your computer. Do YOUR part: Subscribe today!
No zombies will be at our Dreamland Festival in May–only a group of animated hosts (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show AND they save 10% on ticket prices) who will bring you some incredible new information and insights–including this year’s special guest: Nick Pope! But tickets are going fast, so when it comes to getting yours, don’t delay (or you’ll get stung).
Subscribers, to watch the subscriber version of the video, first log in then click on Dreamland Subscriber-Only Video Podcast link.