Eli5: If ants love sugar, and bees make honey, why aren’t bee hives constantly attacked by ants?

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Eli5: If ants love sugar, and bees make honey, why aren’t bee hives constantly attacked by ants?

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12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If banks were guarded by 20-foot-tall flying Navy Seals with giant spears, I bet there would be fewer bank robberies. This situation is analogous.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Ants do attack beehives. I had a robust hive destroyed. In spite of the bees defenses the ants were small enough to create paths and attacked the frames from the inside out. I did enjoy pouring boiling water onto the ant mound in revenge.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In some southern states beekeepers will actually put the leg stands of some raised hives in containers of water to prevent small insects that will rob a weakened hive. In theory the water will prevent small insects from reaching the stand legs and crawling up into the hive.

Source: I am a beekeeper

Anonymous 0 Comments

Humans love money, banks hold a lot of money, why aren’t banks constantly attacked by humans?

Anonymous 0 Comments

I have endless struggles with this. Especially the smaller ants. Some are so small that the bees don’t even bother to stop them. I use diatomaceous earth to make a barrier around the hive, but the rain washes it away readily.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Bee hives are under constant attack, a healthy hive will have guard bees at the entrance to block invaders. A weak or dying hive will very quickly get robbed by bees from other hives, cockroaches, wax moth, and all kinds of other insects that want to eat the honey, the larva or even the wax.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Beekeeper here. Beehives are constantly attacked by ants, but are pretty good at defending the hive. Fun fact, there are certain microscopic mites that can destroy a hive. However, fire any colonies near the hive can control mite populations that lay eggs in the ground near the hive. So actually, ants can be good for bee populations

Anonymous 0 Comments

Ever try to take honey from a bee without a bee keeping suit? Ants don’t have bee keeping suits.

Anonymous 0 Comments

As someone with Beehives I can tell you they very much do. If you have a strong hive they manage to keep the ants out. If they’re weaker, or for example, you give them too much space when there are too few bees, then ants can and will steal the honey.

And God forbid you drop a little bit of it in your kitchen…

Anonymous 0 Comments

If people like money why aren’t banks constantly robbed. It’s because very bad things will happen to you if you try. Bees are a good bit bigger than ants and will kill any ant that tries to get into the hive.