Intoxicated bees have been busted flying under the influence around Australia ’s Parliament House in Canberra , the state ’s capital .
Parliament ’s top dog beekeeper ( yes , the Australian government has a head beekeeper),Cormac Farrellprovided a riveting Twitter thread on why the Aussie bee come along to be drunk . release out , because they were !
According to Farrell , the bee people have spot either stumbling around or dropping out of the sky are drunk on ferment flower nectar thanks to Australia ’s weather heat up as summertime begins .
Unfortunately , it ’s not just a bit of summer fun for the bee , it can have a seriously detrimental effect on both individuals and the hive . Bees that fly drunk often have accident , die of alcoholic beverage poisoning , or ca n’t regain their way home and happen themselves vulnerable .
Even if they do make it home , hoping to log Z’s it off for a few hour , beehive have astrictly no - drinking policyso bee that have imbibe are resist entry by “ bouncers , ” and are even attacked by the sober bees .
It ’s thought the intoxicated bees are denied entry to preclude the dear from fermenting , which could destroy the whole settlement . However , Farrell pointed out , there is a good side to all this . The love make excellent booze for humankind .
As Farrell showed off in the yarn , Australia ’s Parliament House makes both honey George Herbert Mead and dearest vodka from its five resident hive , which are often presented as talent to extraneous dignitaries . countersink up by the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Australian National University’sApiculture Society , the hives were installed in the building ’s surrounding landscape painting in 2017 as a student - lead initiative in bee direction .
The initiative is part of a ball-shaped effort to tackle the decline in bee populations , which are essential to ecosystem , environmental sustainability , and next solid food security .
Curiously , Farrell points out , this boozy behavior only seems to happen to the alien honeybee , which was acquaint from the UK and other European country 190 years ago , rather than aboriginal Australian bee , of which there are over 2,000 metal money . The deduction being it ’s not just Brits on holiday that ca n’t hold their liquor .
Farrell also pass on us with one last playfulness fact : where the term “ honeymoon ” comes from . It refers to thefifth - century European traditionof the newlywed duet imbibition mead – a sottish drunkenness made from work honey with water system , and adding hops , grains , spices , etc – during a moon hertz – the first month of marriage .
