We associate bees as those adorable insects that go around collecting pollen while pollinating plants. The result - that delicious, sweet, sweet honey.
But they’re not all so innocent.
Vulture bees are found within the tropical forests of Central and South America. A unique group of bees, vulture bees have an unusual diet that sets them apart from their nectar-loving relatives.
Unlike most bees, which are known for their sweet honey produced from flower nectar, vulture bees have developed a taste for meat.
I’m serious, they actually feed on decomposing meat.
There are only three species of vulture bees that feed on meat. The reason for their carnivorous diet is the lack of protein sources.
Vulture bees are commonly found in areas where there are a small number of nectar-rich flowers. So to avoid competition for a limited resource, they evolved to get their protein exclusively on decomposing carcases.
And this is reflected in their body structure.
Vulture bees have an extra tooth on each of their mandible that allows them to tear chunks of meat off while they’re foraging. They also don’t have as many hairs compared to their vegetarian relatives that use them for collecting pollen. And unlike the common bees that have a saddle bag-like structure on their legs to carry pollen, vulture bees have evolved smaller leg baskets. They use these leg baskets to carry meat back to their hives.
So, using these physical structures, vultures really scavenge for their meat.
Once a vulture bee finds a carcass, they’ll enter the carcass through the eye sockets. Then using their extra-toothed mandible, the vulture bee will chew and slice flesh off the carrion. They store the meat in their crop - a thin-walled, enlarged area of the bee’s gut that allows them to store food. Once they return to their hive, they regurgitate the food into wax pots.
There are two theories as to what happens next. One theory is that the regurgitated meat is then mixed with sugary plant secretions that have been gathered from fruit and non-floral sources. Then the mixed substance is allowed to mature over 14 days. During this time, the substance will turns into a paste that is rich in amino acids and sugars.
The other theory is that the consumed flesh is used to produce hypopharyngeal gland secretions which is the fancy term for royal jelly. These secretions are then stored in the pots.
Regardless of these mixed theories, there’s still a few important questions remaining. Do the vulture bees produce “meat” honey? And what does the “meat” honey taste like?
At the moment, it seems like there’s no sufficient research to support the theory of “meat” honey. And no credible sources indicating what it tastes like, if it’s safe for human consumption.
So, if anyone is up for the task, feel free to discover if meat honey exists and try some out. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover the next big thing.