Bee Battle Of Epic Proportions (VIDEO)
Anyone who says "there's power in numbers" has clearly never been on the bad side of a Japanese hornet. These poor, unsuspecting European honey bees were minding their own business when a swarm of the hornets swooped down and demolished them.
Even though the footage is beautifully shot, it's still a little sad to watch this "oldie but goodie" video.
And angry hornets aren't the only ones hurting these busy honey-makers.
Studies have shown that climate change and "Colony Collapse Disorder" are threatening honey bee populations around the world.
While the numbers of domesticated honey bees have declined drastically since 2006, it's more difficult to measure the number of bees in the wild.
Scientists from Northern California believe a parasitic fly might be another cause of the population deterioration. The fly deposits eggs into the bee's abdomen, which causes it to become disoriented and leave the hive where it dies shorty after.
In a recent interview with NPR, Andrew Core, author of a study on honey bee populations from San Francisco State University, said there is still plenty of research to be done on these parasites and how they infiltrate honey bee hives.
"One of the things that we want to look at is if the bees that are actually in inside the hive, if they are becoming parasitized," Core told NPR. "If a large number of bees within a hive became parasitized that could likely cause the collapse of a colony. So, we have a lot of investigation to do as far as what bees within a hive are being parasitized, and what the overall effect is on the hive."
The decline is particularly alarming to scientists because the bees are necessary for pollinating around a third of the U.S. food supply.
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First Posted: 01/10/2012 11:25 am Updated: 01/10/2012 11:43 am