North Queensland Native Stingless Bees - Spitting Defence And Washboarding

North Queensland Native Stingless Bees - Spitting Defence And Washboarding. You ever wonder why when you disturb a native bee hive, the bees stick to your hairs (be it arms or head), and seem impossible to remove. And when you try to pull them out its hard. And do native bees washboard like honey bees. This is one of the least understood mechcanisms native bees use to defend against pests, especially ants. Many assume wrongly its resins, ie the bees gather resins from inside the hive and that why they are sticky, trying to deposit that resin on the attacker (be it ants or you). The truth is the bees actually spit a sticky compound. You can do induce this by teasing any bee on your hairy arm, and watch that it suddenly get stuck to your hairs. When ants are arround, the guard bees will constantly suck in and out spit balls, and then chase any ants to put it on thm, OR put it arround the hive to defend the hive. Then they washboard the front to clean up the hive. The following video shows this.