Fear of honey bees of African forest elephants

Pheromone chemical compound secreted by honey bees when they feel threatened can make African elephants panic.

Scientists discovered a tiny creature that could frighten elephants in real life, that is, according to Live Science. The team at the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa, found African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) always trying to stay away from angry honey bees. They hope to use this feature as a way to keep elephants away from living areas.

Honey bees release chemical compounds called pheromones when they feel threatened. For bees, this natural alarm signal will call their friends to help and defend through stings, said Nieh Lab, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego.

African elephants in a puddle at Kruger National Park.(Photo: Mark Wright).

People seem to lack receptors for pheromone identification. Therefore, we cannot detect this type of chemical signal, but elephants can. Scientists assume that if an elephant senses an alarm pheromone compound from honey bees, it is more likely that they will keep their distance from the dangerous area.

To test the hypothesis, the researchers placed a slow release sock of the pheromone mixture of honey bees near the puddle in the Greater Kruger National Park, where the elephants often drink. They found 25 of the 29 elephants approached and quickly checked the socks from a distance before backing away in fear.

However, the elephants were carefree around a similar sock but did not contain pheromones. Some elephants picked up this sock or even tried to eat it. The results of the study were published in Current Biology in July 2018.

Scientists believe that elephants are afraid of bees because they do not like to be burned into soft tissues on the body and around the eyes. When the elephants evolved, they learned how to recognize the honey bee's pheromone as a way to avoid painful burns.

The number of people living is constantly increasing in European and Asian areas coinciding with elephant habitats. Therefore, we need to develop safe elephant management strategies to help prevent conflicts. Although honey bee pheromones can repel elephants, scientists do not know how difficult it would be to apply this technique on a large scale, such as protecting farmland.