A Tiny Honey Bee Friend in the Nest – Not to be shared beyond this collective

NOT TO BE SHARED OUTSIDE OF THE WONDERMENT - sensitive information                                                                          Hygiene is essential to the long-term health of a honey bee nest.
  • Bees make propolis which is a resinous substance that has antimicrobial properties and is essential to the maintenance of a clean, disease free nest. They use it for many things including sealing cracks, smoothing surfaces and protection from fire and intruders.
  • While honey bees clean and groom each other to remove unwanted hangers-on and maintain cleanliness, a previous update shared how wax moths also assist bees in this regard.
  • But there is another very tiny arachnid called a pseudoscorpion, who grooms honey bees as well. These tiny housekeepers, live within the nest with the bees and use their pincers to remove and eat tiny organisms such as mites from the bees when they return to the nest. Pseudoscorpions and honey bees willingly cohabitate and support the health and well-being of each other.
  • When you appreciate all of the factors at play to maintain a healthy wild honey bee nest and the balance of all of the intertwined relationships at play, it's no wonder human managed beehives struggle to survive and so often don't. We need to respect and protect those who know what they're doing so they can continue to serve the broader ecosystem upon which we are all dependent.

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