All gardeners have witnessed the phenomenon: a bee seems to be bumping into flowers, flying everywhere, or sitting still on a leaf, looking lethargic. You might think that little worker is just tired from a long day of pollinating, but the truth is far more exciting: that bee is actually drunk!
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Check PriceAs the heat intensifies in Australia gardens undergo something quite funny. When it gets hotter than 35°C (95°F), some flowers start to ferment their nectar. Instead of waiting for pollinators to come by, the nectar becomes a type of alcohol which turns their flowers into little breweries.
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Nature can be fascinating! For safety reasons, workers can not be tipsy. However, if some workers were tipsy, it may cause chaos. Nature can self-regulate and prevent chaos. This isn't just a random event in nature. It gives an understanding of how ecosystems self-regulate. It gives an understanding of how ecosystems protect from chaos
The Science of Nature's Cocktail Hour
Heat works like a master distiller in the garden. As the temperature rises and the humidity lowers, the sugary nectar within flowers begins to ferment due to naturally present yeasts. These tiny organisms transform sugar into ethyl alcohol, which is the same alcohol found in your wine glass. However, in this case, the alcohol is found in droplets smaller than a pinhead.
The production of nectar with a 0.5% to 1% alcohol concentration can lead to serious intoxication to small creatures, while humans would only experience mild effects. A particular Australian species of trees, known as tea trees, bottlebrush plants, and eucalyptus, are infamous for this.
The fermentation of nectar into bee beer happens relatively fast, often only a few hours. During peak heat, nectar goes from being food for the bees, to being fermented fuel for the bees. In fact, some flower nectars are so fermented that bees can become drunk after only one feeding.
Drunk Bee Symptoms: Happy Hour in Nature
Bees behaving while intoxicated act remarkably like drunk people. They tend to bump into different things and exhibit poor flying control. They also can become overly aggressive or overly friendly. Some may even just sit still as if they are trying to wait for the intoxicated feeling to pass.
The best way of seeing if a bee is drunk or sober is to observe their flight patterns. Sober bees will fly in straight lines. Drunk bees will fly in a wobbly pattern, crash landing on petals and leaves and sitting there looking confused.
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Temperature affects bees’ alcohol metabolism. At cooler temperatures, they may stay tipsy for hours. However, high temperatures mean the alcohol impacts them quickly, but clears their systems quickly too.
The Guard Bee Bouncer System
Here is an example of how intelligent bee society is. As worker bees arrive to the hive, guard bees must inspect the worker bees. These guard bees are able to detect alcohol on their sister worker bees and will stop the intoxicated worker bee from entering the hive.
Guard bees use their antennae to smell returning foragers, checking for the telltale scent of fermented nectar. If a bee fails the sobriety test, the guards will push her away, sometimes quite aggressively. They might grab the drunk bee with their legs and literally throw her out of the entrance area.
This behavior has important functions. Bees under the influence cannot do their waggle dance, the method of communicating the locations of flowers to other bees. They may also purge some of their fermented nectar into the honey store, which could get the entire food supply of the hive contaminated with alcohol.
Why Should You Care About This for Your Garden
Knowledge about bee intoxication can further explain some of the enigmas of the garden. If the behaviour of the bees seems unusual on very hot days, they could be battling with nectar that has fermented naturally, instead of being exposed to pesticides or sickness.
This knowledge aids in deciding which plants to buy. For example, if you live in a hot area and have a problem with bee intoxication, it would be a good idea to plant some flowers with more stable nectars. Plants that are native to your area and have adapted to its specific conditions are likely to have more appropriate nectars for the local bee populations.
Gardens with a variety of flower species can help. Bees have several options to pick from and don’t have to rely on a single plant which may be producing boozy blooms.
A Deeper Look into the Balance of Nature
The drunk bee phenomenon showcases nature's astounding capability to self-regulate. If there were no guard bees functioning as quality control officers, entire hives would become dysfunctional. This basic behavioral adaptation stops individual drunkenness from turning into a catastrophe for the whole colony.
It also demonstrates the way environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity influence the behavior of pollinators. The changes in climate may lead to more frequent occurrences of nectar fermentation due to climate change, which will pose additional difficulties for populations of bees.
Once you learn how to appreciate their humorous activities, you will get a lot of amusement out of spending time in the garden. Watching the complex social structures of intoxicated bees and their sober supervisors will become one of your favorite pastimes.
The next time your garden while it is super hot outside, pay attention to the bees. You may see nature's most responsible happy hour, including designated drivers and quality control. You are not just growing flowers – you are hosting an astonishing display of animal behavior that is taking place right in front of you.
