25 Oct, 2015

Scientists have discovered why American honeybees are turning into zombies

Others | UNITED STATES | 25 Oct, 2015
Published by : Js Green Consultant

Summary:

"The United States Is Being Invaded by ZOMBEES"

• ZOMBEES are HONEYBEES that have been infected by the PHORID FLY: APOCEPHALUS BOREALIS
• Also known as the 'ZOMBIE FLY'.
• The fly is native to most of the US and has been known to infect bumblebees
• They have since expanded their host range to include the honeybee
• We rely on these honeybee's pollination to produce our favorite foods
• The fly lay its eggs in the bee's abdomen. As the fly larvae grows in its body, the bee become erratic.
• it demonstrates zombie-like behavior leaving its hive in middle of the night.

Picture extract from video.

Signs that a bee is infected :

• It flies at night
• It is attracted to porch or street ights, and lingers by them throughout the day
• It's on on the ground, crawling in circles, disoriented or dead.
• You can attract them by building a light trap
• Although they are weak or dying they can still sting
• The fly larva grows, and moves up through the bee, to exit between the thorax and the head

Picture extract from video.

Bees abandoning the hive is the leading cause of colony collapse disorder, responsible for the declining numbers of honey bees. To what extent the zombie fly is the source of this is not yet known.

Infected bees have been found across the united states. One study tested hives throughout the San Francisco bay area. (77% of hives were infected). Fly larvae have been found in up to 18% of the forager bees in some hives.

As of 2015, "Zombees" have been found in 7 states : 

• Washington
• Oregon
• California
• South Dakota
• Pennyslvania
• New York
• Vermont

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Video & extracted summary from Tech Insider : Original page