Honeybees. Apis mellifera. Innocuous, diligent workers with only
one mission in mind: to survive and provide for the hive. You
would hardly ever come across a honeybee taking a break or
straying from routine. Why, then, are honeybees in California
and South Dakota suddenly abandoning their hives at night? Some
seem to wander and stumble aimlessly, as if disoriented. Clumps
of dead bees inexplicably turn up under light fixtures in the
morning. What’s gotten into the honeybees lately? The ominous,
horrific, literal answer is this: parasites. A species of fly
called Apocephalus borealis is responsible for this suspicious
bee-havior (I couldn’t resist using at least one bee pun).
Here’s how it works. The fly lays eggs inside the body of a
honeybee, which then serves as an incubator. The bee becomes a
walking, buzzing time bomb until the eggs hatch. As the eggs
grow, they suck up nutrients from their surrounding environment
(i.e. their bee host). The bees become disoriented as their
bodies change from within, ofte