Overview
- University of California, Riverside researchers analyzed more than 4,300 behaviors from over 415 bumble bees across six colonies in shared foraging arenas.
- Bees favored ant-free feeders, and higher ant numbers at a site reduced bee feeding attempts while increasing the likelihood of ant bites.
- Aggression was two-way as bees defended themselves with mandibles, sometimes decapitating ants, while no stinging by bees was observed.
- After ant encounters, bees were five times more likely to keep engaging aggressively rather than switch to nonaggressive behavior and eight times more likely to keep fighting than feed.
- The colony-level outcome remains uncertain, with researchers noting it is unknown whether hives compensate for lost food by altering forager deployment.