Bee’s can be alcoholics too. And much like humans, some bees are complete drunks, while other bees seem to prefer to abstain from alcohol. In the world of bees, alcohol is easily acquired. This ease of access is due to the fermented honey located throughout many beehives.
Another similarity between inebriated humans and drunken bees would have to be the damage they both cause while operating intoxicated. Researchers found that once a bee with an alcohol problem leaves the honeycomb to find another destination, their trip is highly likely to be disastrous and lead to the tragic death of said bee.
Often intoxicated bees are unable to navigate to other areas that provide nourishment and as a result die. Even if an intoxicated bee should make it to another beehive, they typically don’t face a happy end. Apparently, the bees that have managed to avoid falling victim to morbid alcohol abuse will hold the drunken bees in shame, chewing the drunken bees legs off so as to cripple them and prevent any hope of the poor drunken bee to find a means of survival. Apparently alcohol is not as socially acceptable in the society of bees as it is in ours.
Have you ever seen a drunken bee? How do you think the treatment of alcoholic bees differs/resembles how humans treat alcoholics?
