There’s nothing worse than a trip to the outhouse in cold weather. But for Arctic bumblebees, potty breaks outside their regular burrow cavities may help keep their living space relatively clean and orderly.
“A lot of social insects have this kind of behavior,” says Hailey Scofield, director of climate change mitigation at Kawerak, a nonprofit organization serving tribes in eastern Alaska.
In a study published recently in Ecosphere, Scofield and her colleague Leah Valdes, a Ph.D. student in entomology at Cornell University, reported that after keeping bees for a period under observation, they found that bees consistently pooped in one or two concentrated locations, or outhouses as the researchers called them.
Why Would Bees Use an Outhouse?
Valdes says this behavior is likely related to hygiene. Social species like Arctic bumblebees can be susceptible to disease and parasites as they live in close quarters with relatives. As a result, hygiene is important for survival, just as behavior like social distancing when disease enters a colony.
