OLD BEES JUST FADE AWAY

As bees mature they take on a range of different jobs within the hive. The final task, reserved for the oldest bees, is foraging. It’s perhaps the most physically intensive of all the roles that they will ever have completed, and a bit like forcing pensioners to repair the roads in human society.

Foraging is a job that comes to an end with the demise of the bee. One day, somewhere around Day 42, or so, a bee will likely fail to return. Many explanations for this finality see it as altruistic. We love a selfless narrative us humans, especially if we can interpret animal behavior through the lens of our own perceived virtues.

Bit sad, but lets be realistic, honeybees don’t die alone away from the hive so as not to he a burden or bio-threat to their beloved hive mates, that’s a very human interpretation. Many, if not most bees. will literally work until they drop down dead. But hey, that’s nature for you. But, it really was a life of insect purpose. They protected the shared genetics of the hive which is a bee’s prime directive.

(Just as an aside, a few older bees will of course have succombed to atrophy before leaving the hive on their final day, which is why one of the very first jobs THEY ever did, as hatchlings, was the role of Undertaker Bee. It’s very much the circle of life if you buzz and have stripes. )
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