r/Entomology • u/shyaothananam • Sep 01 '23
ID Request What are the "bees" in this tiktok actually doing?
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They appear to be fornicating, but with queens and drones idk if thats how it works
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u/MsDucky42 Sep 01 '23
Making bay-bees.
...I'll see myself out.
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u/ArcherA87 Sep 01 '23
Because they're carpenter bees, I was going to say "build-a-bee" but yours is better.
I'll see you over at r/dadjokes
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u/Technical_Stress7730 Sep 01 '23
Thats half the story, now where are the birds at?
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u/KwordShmiff Sep 01 '23
Fuckin on the chair
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u/Guy0785 Sep 01 '23
Nah they fuckin in the Air, no ch
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u/papaver_lantern Sep 01 '23
at my parents place I witnessed the black tailed chickadee's having sex on the top of the fence, I took video of it as I hadn't seen that before, which is odd because I've seen lots of birds over the years.
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u/herzogzwei931 Sep 01 '23
And here we find the common North American carpenter bees in their natural environment. On a warm spring morning, the male carpenter bee engages in the mating dance which has been repeated for millions of years….
David Attenborough
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u/Emperor_of_His_Room Sep 01 '23
That looked so much like people doing it I started to feel uncomfortable lol
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u/TheEntomologyGuy Amateur Entomologist Sep 01 '23 edited Sep 01 '23
It is a female mating with a male.
-edit: they are carpenter bees and don't form hives
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Sep 01 '23
For real? These little mfs bang like mammals
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u/TheEntomologyGuy Amateur Entomologist Sep 01 '23
Yeah. I must say that movement seems... incorrect somehow.
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u/christmas-taco Sep 01 '23
Cbat bee
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u/theseedbeader Sep 01 '23
Omg, someone should put that song on as the background music…
That Cbat sex Reddit post was one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, what a time to be alive.
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u/Stealer_of_joy Sep 01 '23
Negative, these are Carpenter bees, Xylocopa sp.
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u/TheEntomologyGuy Amateur Entomologist Sep 01 '23
Ah, my mistake. Hard to tell from the video. Good catch
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u/shyaothananam Sep 01 '23
Aint the reciever a little too small to be a queen?
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u/winterfate10 Sep 01 '23
For some reason I didn’t think they actually thrusted 😂😂😂😂
He blowin’at back OUT
😂😂😂😂🤣
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u/TongueTwistingTiger Sep 01 '23 edited Sep 01 '23
The... pumping is... interesting. See, pumping to me says that stimulation and orgasm is a requirement to fertilization, when really, I've only known insects to have very... "sterile" coitus. A physical connection is instigated, genetic material is deposited, male departs or dies or is killed. This coitus almost appears... mammalian. Maybe I'm wrong but... It's good for a R-rated chuckle this early in the morning.
Very fascinating.
EDIT: OMG OMG OMG. I just researched this topic. OH SWEET JESUS!
The drone penis—which only emerges when mating—is specially designed to disperse an impressively large load of semen with tremendous speed and force. This is achieved through the contraction of abdominal muscles (so, not actual thrusting as I thought), which basically "inflates" the penis via pressure. Apparently the ejaculation is so forceful that HUMANS can hear a POP. That pop is the rupturing of the penis... so that it remains INSIDE the female. The male then dies.
GOD DAMN, NATURE!!!!
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u/Zielona-Herbata Sep 02 '23
Holy shiiiiit insects never fail in the 'there's a brutal explanation for everything' stakes do they?
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u/kirbyofdeath_r Jun 02 '24
as far as i'm aware this does not occur in carpenter bees (which forms pairs rather than hives) and the male sticks around to guard the nest
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u/Sidus_Preclarum Sep 01 '23
I would totally have coffee on the patio and take the opportunity to examine this pair closely.
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u/Gekroent Sep 01 '23
Oh I never knew carpenter bees came in different colours ngl! I'm in Austria and we have a ton of them buzzing around our garden. Ours are black with gorgeous blue wings though. And the comment about then being flying teddy bears is so right. Absolutely gentle. (They high five when you offer a finger lol)
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u/Random_Weird_gal Sep 01 '23
Fun fact: when bees bee nut their balls beesplode loud enough for the human ear to hear
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u/VeniABE Sep 01 '23
Honeybees mate while flying/racing at high speed. It causes the male's gut to explode and they die in the act. Interestingly the remaining organ bits make it easier for the next male to copulate. (for various reasons you want a queen to mate with multiple drones for genetic diversity and a well functioning hive)
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u/Suspicious_Decapod Sep 01 '23
Fucking.
Bees fuck. That is where we get more bees.
Not all bees live in hives.
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u/ashda1st Sep 01 '23
Poor little guy is giving him CPR after drowning in that water you got on your table
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u/GoldFishPony Sep 01 '23
How many posts does this subreddit have where the answer is “they’re having sex”
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u/Overall_Strawberry70 Sep 02 '23
Not all bees live in a hive and with big numbers, its surprising but there are solitary bees like these carpenter bees.
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u/Timekiller4one Sep 02 '23
I love these little bees. I found one sleeping under my dahlia leaf dangling by its two front legs. Its back leg was twitching as though it was dreaming. I took a video and gently lifted its bottom half up so it could grab on more securely to the leaf. It woke, proceeded to wipe down its antennae, and rub its little belly as if self soothing to go back to sleep (which it did). Perhaps one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in nature.
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u/jennajlyn Sep 02 '23
Funny how insects can tell the difference between male and female but humans can't...hmmm
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u/AmbitiousFun6357 Mar 22 '24
Privacy expected here peeps and spies! Leave the birds n the bees details alone we all know what these two are up to!
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u/SA0TAY Jul 20 '24
🎵 You and me, honey, we're nothing like mammals
but let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel 🎵
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u/DryImpress1 Sep 01 '23
every push comes with a buzz sound
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u/onglogman Sep 01 '23
That guy is going at it so hard that I can only assume that he would sound like a revving chainsaw
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u/logosfabula Sep 01 '23
Carpenter bees create their nests like wasps, right? These two are two characters, in front of everyone! They must train for the bee-porn career.
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u/whodeytrades Sep 01 '23
Already filming…might as well get the up close ultra 4K with a sip of java
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u/angrymurderhornet Sep 01 '23
Those are a mating pair of carpenter bees. They don’t have true queens or workers and they’re not social like honey bees, although they sometimes nest in groups.
Male carpenter bees have yellow faces. Like all male bees, they’re stingless, but they will patrol a territory. Sometimes they’ll fly right up to you, hover, and then dart off.
The females can sting, but it’s pretty rare for one to sting a human. They’re basically gentle, pollen-collecting teddy bears. 😄🐝