There are many other bee species that can sting Humans and survive, but the European honeybee has a barbed stinger, so it cannot remove the stinger once it’s stung. In attempting to remove the stinger the bee will rupture its lower abdomen and then die.
Why? What is the evolutionary advantage to that?
I wonder if that would sometimes be a desirable trait in farmed bees in areas with a lot of predators or competitors.
Like, the human knows that protection will be required and will suit up accordingly, but the ants, wasps or bears that try to rob the hive will be much less successful.
Yeah, I think that was the reasoning.
But they forgot that life finds a way and the hybrids wouldn’t just stay where they put them.
They not only outcompete European hives, they’ll straight up raid and destroy other hives stealing their young.
Because their African half evolved in a resource scarce environment. If they run across other bees they view it as a direct threat on their resources. Pretty sure it also causes them to establish new hives much further away than European bees. Which is why they keep spreading so fast.
I’m just glad no one’s tried to crossbreed honey badgers with wolves to combat the hybrid bees yet.