That kind of response to predators or enemies will warn other members of its species! Researchers from Wellesley College managed to record the unique sounds honey bees (Apis cerana) make when giant murder hornets attack their area.
Associate professor of biological sciences Heather Mattila and her colleagues observed that the bees make these noises at a frenetic pace as a distress signal when the hornets were outside their hive. “The pipes share traits in common with a lot of mammalian alarm signals, so as a mammal hearing them, there's something that is instantly recognizable as communicating danger,” she said. “It feels like a universal experience.”
These sounds, also called antipredator pipes, are harsh and irregular, with shifting frequencies. Researchers compared it to the alarming shrieks, fear screams, and panic calls other animals make in response to predators. Aside from serving as a warning bell or a distress signal for the colony, the sounds serve as a signal for colony members to start their defensive actions, such as spreading animal dung around colony entrances to repel giant hornets and forming bee balls to kill attacking hornets collectively.
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