Honeybees rely on plant pollen as a protein-packed food source. Some honeybees are known to steal pollen from bumblebees. In 2019, naturalists Tiziano Londei and Giuliana Marzi recorded a video of honeybees robbing red-tailed bumblebees of their pollen while foraging on a woolly thistle in Italy. The honeybees targeted male bumblebees more than females, and the bumblebees did not react aggressively to the theft. Biologist Avery Russell from Missouri State University commented that honeybees are notorious for their pollen-stealing behavior and that stealing pollen from bumblebees is not surprising.
2024-01-23 11:32:57
Post from www.sciencenews.org
