Groomer honeybees can boost a colony's immunity by clearing deadly parasites off their nestmates using their mandibles, a study has found. The find offers hope for dealing with serious pests including the infamous varroa mite, that attaches itself to a worker's abdomen and sucks out its bodily fluids. 'We suspect that if more bees engaged in these allogrooming behaviours that ward off parasites, the colony as a whole could have greater immunity.' In the experiment the scientists marked certain bees (pictured) and then monitored their behaviour for 30 minutes every day for 13 daysGroomer bees did not have specialised equipment. 'Only a tiny fraction of bees however perform allogrooming inside the hive,' Dr Cini told MailOnline.

Source: Daily Mail June 02, 2020 16:46 UTC