Bee Poop
March 1, 2019 11:31 AM Subscribe
Apis mellifera (honey bees) and its subspecies worker bees are incredibly hygienic both in terms of their removal of disease in the colony and their keeping up with general housekeeping.
The bee digestive system does not separate waste into solids and liquids, it is all collected in the same place.
Bees will hold their poop all winter so as not to poop inside the hive.
On days that are sunny or warmer than 50ish degrees Fahrenheit, bees will take a "cleansing flight" for a quick bathroom break. On the first warm day of spring, if your car is near a hive, you will find it speckled with small sticky orange spots.Poop is composed of thousands of pollen grains (includes 100x and 400 magnifications). For bees that do not leave the hive such as the queen and young workers, they have their poop cleaned out of the hive by other workers.
Queen bee poop is, in fact the source of a pheremone that stimulates grooming behavior. In virgin queens, it repels workers while in inseminated queens it is cleaned out by worker hivekeeping staff and can be used to recognize the scent of the queen and nestmates.
Healthy bee poop tends to be sticky and look like mustard. The droppings are pretty hard to remove too. But you can try soaking the bombed area with water, keep it wet for about 20 minutes, and then wash with soapy water or a pressure hose.
Unfortunately, bees can get dysentery from overripe fruit or other high fiber nectar. They may also get diarrhea from a unicellular parasite pathogen, Nosema apis. N apis can infect the entire hive and is one of the most common honey bee diseases, impairing the digestion of pollen. One sign of nosema is brown poop on the hive porch.
There are some interesting theories about bee poop out there, but honey is definitely not bee poop.
The bee digestive system does not separate waste into solids and liquids, it is all collected in the same place.
Bees will hold their poop all winter so as not to poop inside the hive.
On days that are sunny or warmer than 50ish degrees Fahrenheit, bees will take a "cleansing flight" for a quick bathroom break. On the first warm day of spring, if your car is near a hive, you will find it speckled with small sticky orange spots.Poop is composed of thousands of pollen grains (includes 100x and 400 magnifications). For bees that do not leave the hive such as the queen and young workers, they have their poop cleaned out of the hive by other workers.
Queen bee poop is, in fact the source of a pheremone that stimulates grooming behavior. In virgin queens, it repels workers while in inseminated queens it is cleaned out by worker hivekeeping staff and can be used to recognize the scent of the queen and nestmates.
Healthy bee poop tends to be sticky and look like mustard. The droppings are pretty hard to remove too. But you can try soaking the bombed area with water, keep it wet for about 20 minutes, and then wash with soapy water or a pressure hose.
Unfortunately, bees can get dysentery from overripe fruit or other high fiber nectar. They may also get diarrhea from a unicellular parasite pathogen, Nosema apis. N apis can infect the entire hive and is one of the most common honey bee diseases, impairing the digestion of pollen. One sign of nosema is brown poop on the hive porch.
There are some interesting theories about bee poop out there, but honey is definitely not bee poop.
Honey is also not bee vomit.
So...bee cud, then?
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:52 AM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
So...bee cud, then?
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:52 AM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Much respect to the honey bees for going all winter. Growing up, I once held out for three days to avoid an outhouse on a camping trip. Rumors of evidence of Sasquatch swirled after I gave in under a bush.
posted by vorpal bunny at 12:27 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by vorpal bunny at 12:27 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I did not put her up to this, homo neanderthalensis.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:04 PM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:04 PM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
Scanning the title I thought this was going to be a Johnny Wallflower post about scatological jazz.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:10 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:10 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
I did not put her up to this, homo neanderthalensis.
Somehow I don't Bee-lieve it.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2019 [6 favorites]
Somehow I don't Bee-lieve it.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2019 [6 favorites]
Johnny W, I blame myself for inspiring this post and I am so very sorry.
posted by zaixfeep at 1:33 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by zaixfeep at 1:33 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
You need to Bee-have better than that zaixfeep.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:43 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 1:43 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Sophie1's comment yesterday had me contemplating a Frass Fact Post (an FFP FPP if you will). But instead I'll just leave it here.
posted by zinon at 1:52 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by zinon at 1:52 PM on March 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
I feel cheated because I expected more about honey. On the flipside, I feel blessed because I did not know bees could go an entire winter without pooping, a fact that is sure to entertain my four-year-old grandkid. Well done, OP!
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:00 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
I'll do a fun post about honey next week Bella Donna. For your grandkid!
posted by Sophie1 at 2:03 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Sophie1 at 2:03 PM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
Read The Bees by Laline Paull to learn lots more about honey bees, from the bees point of view.
posted by nofundy at 6:49 PM on March 1, 2019
posted by nofundy at 6:49 PM on March 1, 2019
keeping up with general housekeeping.
This is true. A honey bee got into our house last summer apparently just before we went to the cottage for the long weekend. When we got back the laundry was all folded and put away, the basement had been organized and it seems the china cabinet had been partially Marie Kondoed.
It flew out when we got back, which meant I had to change all the kitchen paper myself.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:03 PM on March 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
This is true. A honey bee got into our house last summer apparently just before we went to the cottage for the long weekend. When we got back the laundry was all folded and put away, the basement had been organized and it seems the china cabinet had been partially Marie Kondoed.
It flew out when we got back, which meant I had to change all the kitchen paper myself.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:03 PM on March 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
View of honey bee excrement on right front windshield of Toyota Prias (red arrow). The fresh glob of excrement appeared on a clean windshield within one hour after parking in Twin Oaks Valley.The link about the composition of bee poop sounds fantastically passive-aggressive, I think it would have been front page worthy on its own!
posted by nickgb at 4:38 PM on March 3, 2019
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Bees are so cool.
posted by ananci at 11:37 AM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]