I learned today that 70% of all bee species live underground. Another ~25% live in wood, and only ~5% live in hives, build combs, or live in colonies. Male bees are homeless; they’re only allowed home for sex. Outside, it’s cold, hungry, and dangerous. To protect themselves from predators, males of some species gather in “sleeping camps”. They hang onto grass blades with their jaws, stretch out their legs, and fall asleep in clusters of several dozens. They defend themselves from predators through the “dilution effect” – the more bees in a pile, the less likely you are to be eaten. The idea is simple: a predator can eat only a limited number of victims in one go. If you’re sitting on the stem alone and a predator comes – you’re eaten, the chance of dying is ~100%. But if there are fifty of you on the stem, the predator will still take one or two bees, but your chance of becoming the victim drops to a couple of percent. Red currant likely protects itself in a similar manner.
You might ask, who are the predators that eat bees? Mainly in those regions, it is the bug Apiomerus flaviventris. The bug pierces the sleeping male with its proboscis and sucks out the contents. Don’t ask where it pierces
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 