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There's been a lot of talk in recent years about saving the bees.
But when they’re faced with natural disasters,
these fuzzy little critters could be called the ultimate survivors.
They’re resilient enough to weather volcanoes, wildfires, and hurricanes,
all thanks to some pretty incredible adaptations that come in handy when disaster strikes.
Residents of Spain’s La Palma island know firsthand the devastation a volcano can bring.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted in September 2021 and persisted for over three months.
Then it was finally declared finished towards the end of December 2021.
And while this eruption drove people from their homes, commercial hives of Apis mellifera,
also known locally as Canary black bees, took a different approach.
They opted to seal themselves into their hives for 50 days!
They did this with the help of a sticky substance called propolis, or bee glue.
Propolis is made from water, bee spit, and plant resin that bees collect.
They regularly make and use it in their hives to seal up cracks, keep the wind and rain out,
or as an added layer of security against potential predators.
Or in this case a volcanic eruption! While the volcano was doing its thing,
bees sealed the hive to keep toxic gasses and ash at bay and the colony alive.
While the volcano on La Palma was still actively erupting,
a beekeeper with a farm 600 meters away from the volcano went to check
and see whether anything had survived the volcano’s wrath.
Five of the hives were completely coated in ash, and tens of thousands of bees had sealed
themselves into the hive with the help of that sticky bee glue.
And some apiarists, or beekeepers, described them as
less than pleased, but they were still alive. Not only did they have a way to seal up the hive,
but they also had all the food they needed to survive the fifty-day ordeal: honey.
Typically bees will eat their honey stash during winter
when there aren’t many flowers available to harvest.
And the hives near the volcano still had
the entire summer harvest of honey left inside the hives,
because it hadn’t harvested it yet. So the bees had plenty to snack on.
It’s hard to say whether every single bee survived this ordeal,
as it’s tough to count individual bees in a colony of over ten thousand.
But it’s safe to say that most of the bees in the five hives survived,
which is a pretty incredible feat.
Hives closer to the volcano's lava path weren't so lucky.
I mean, there's really not much that can survive being burned up by lava.
But even in the face of fire, bees will at least make a valiant attempt to stand up to the heat.
For example, beehives located on the roof of the Notre Dame Cathedral survived the 2019 blaze
that destroyed a big part of the famous roof structure.
In part, they survived thanks to their resourcefulness.
A common behavior for these critters is that
they’ll work together to fan their hives to keep them from overheating.
This strategy helps them endure hot summer temperatures,
so there’s a possibility they might have tried this during the fire.
Their survival also had to do with where the hives were located.
Like, they were close enough to get pretty toasty,
but they were never in the direct path of the fire.
But if fires aren’t enough, there’s also hurricanes
which are not a problem for bees. At least sometimes.
As long as their hive doesn’t go underwater for a long time,
that sticky bee glue helps bees keep the worst of the wind and the rain out of their colony.
The biggest threat to bees in a hurricane is debris from the storm trashing their hives,
or water so high that it floods the hive drowning the bees.
Otherwise, they can seal their hives up with propolis
and ride out the worst of the storm while surviving on honey.
In 2019, when Hurricane Michael roared across the Florida panhandle,
beekeepers didn’t lose everything. One apiarist even profited from the disaster,
selling hurricane honey produced by his bees that survived the ordeal.
So, bees are hard-working critters who strive to maintain
a safe and comfortable living environment for the entire colony,
no matter what nature throws at them. And while they’re certainly resilient
in the face of a disaster, there’s a lot that humans can
do to help make sure that these little survivors
are around for centuries to come. In the case of commercially kept bees,
apiarists can make sure that their hives are protected
as much as possible should a disaster strike. While volcanic eruptions are
hard to safeguard against, beehives can be secured or transported somewhere
safer in the event of a hurricane or wildfire. And for native bee species, some of
whom are on the brink of extinction, humans can minimize their pesticide usage
and create more pollinator-friendly spaces, to provide habitat for our fuzzy little friends.
It’s the least we can do, as a thanks for pollinating our crops and,
in the case of honey bees, providing us with a sweet treat.
Thank you for watching this episode of SciShow!
If you liked learning about all the great things bees can do,
I bet you’ll love our podcast, SciShow Tangents!
In it, some of the fun people involved in SciShow get together for
a lightly competitive knowledge showcase.
In each episode, they rack up points for teaching the others, and everyone listening at home,
the most mind-blowing science facts related to the week’s theme.
And we’ve got a whole episode about bees,
where we covered what nightclubs and honeybee hives have in common?
So, if you love science, laughing, and lighthearted,
nerdy competitions, you should check it out!
You can find SciShow Tangents anywhere you get your podcasts.
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