Honey bees can’t practice social distancing, so they stay healthy in close quarters by working together
As many states and cities across the U.S. struggle to control COVID-19 transmission, one challenge is curbing the spread among people living in close quarters. Social distancing can be difficult in places such as nursing homes, apartments, college dormitories and migrant worker housing.
The complex interactions that maintain group health inside a bee hive offer lessons for humanity during pandemics.
Rachael Bonoan, CC BY-ND
As behavioral ecologists who have studied social interactions in honey bees, we see parallels between life in the hive and efforts to manage COVID-19 in densely populated settings. Although honey bees live in conditions that aren’t conducive to social distancing, they have developed unique ways to deal with disease by collectively working to keep the colony healthy.
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