Male honeybees blind the queen bee during sex by injecting her with toxins

The saying goes that ‘love is blind’, and it seems that may be true – if you’re a queen honeybee .

A new study by researchers from the University of California , Riverdale, has revealed that male bees inject toxins during sex to temporarily blind the queen bee.

The researchers believe this tactic may be used to maximise the male’s chance of fathering offspring.

Professor Boris Baer, senior author of the study, said: “The male bees want to ensure their genes are among those that get passed on by discouraging the queen from mating with additional males. She can't fly if she can't see properly.”

The toxins were found to be contained in the male bees’ seminal fluid – a substance that helps maintain sperm.

In the study, the researchers presented queens with a flickering light, following sex with a male.

They found that in the first few hours after sex, the queens were unable to detect this light, indicating that they were blind.

However, the queen bees’ sight returned within hours, indicating that the blinding effects were temporary.

The researchers also installed tiny tags on the queen bees’ backs, which could be read by scanners at the hive entrances.


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