Even from ancient times, honey bees fought alongside human companions.

Historical evidence shows how bees helped humans to conquer fortified structures to ultimately be the edge for a win in heavy sieges.

Throughout the globe, across the sea, even in the world wars, honey bees have been unwitting players.

There are no doubts that honey bees are a war machine.

1. Scouting For Enemies

Bee colonies have absolutely no reason to attack unless disturbed or provoked.

As in any army, scouts are used to spot and assess known enemies like wasps and bears. You definitely don’t want to be assessed as the enemy.

The queen sends out hundreds of scouts to secure areas of over 5 km every day.

2. Backup

You must think that in war, you might need some support.

This is definitely not the case here.

When at war, males (bumblebees) are the first to take their things and run. Honey bees are left alone to fight the enemy alongside their queen.

3. Army Composition

Scouts:

Little athletes with the sole purpose to find food and enemies.

Cannon Fodder:

Mainly consisting of really old bees with a short life ahead.

Soldiers:

When the signal indicating a call to arms is given, all healthy bees present in the hive become gallant soldiers and fearless warriors.

The Elite:

Strong soldiers with war experience specially selected by the queen to guard the last line of defense against enemies.

Royal Guard:

5 to 20 handpicked warriors in charge of queen security. They never leave her side and wherever the queen moves they assist. Royal guards constantly form a body circle around their queen so nothing gets to her uncontested.

4. Deep Communication

Being able to communicate with high precision gave bees the edge they needed to survive for thousands of years.

Think of the hive as one single organism. Everyone knows about everything at any given moment in time.

Through touching and dancing, bees are able to communicate indicating everything about the dangers ahead and the current status of the hive.

5. Call To Arms Alarm System

The moment a scout spots the danger, it runs at full speed to its hive to alarm the royal guard.

If the queen assesses that the danger is real, it releases pheromones that alert the entire hive.

Then all hell breaks loose and every single honey bee is in warrior stance until the end of danger.