Bees That Drink Human Tears

http://www.pilgrimsonthesilkroad.com/

Howdy!

Listen everyone, plant lots of flowers…if we run short the bees will go for your eyes!

Well, not necessarily. But this item from the Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society seems a bit unsettling. From the abstract:

Lisotrigona cacciae, L. furva and Pariotrigona klossi (Meliponini, Apidae) workers drank lachrymation (tears) from human eyes in more than 262 naturally-occurred cases at 10 sites in N and S Thailand during all months of the year . . . On man the bees were relatively gentle visitors, mostly landing on the lower eyelashes from where they imbibed tears for 0.5–2.5 min, often singly but occasionally in congregations of 5–7 specimens per eye . . . We propose that L. cacciae, L. furva and P. klossi drink tears for their high content in proteins in addition to, or in lieu of pollen, rather than only for salts and water.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Tip: Boing Boing

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