The Cape bee, a subspecies of honeybee from the southwestern tip of South Africa, sometimes breaks the rules of the bee world. “Female worker bees can escape their queen’s control, take over other colonies and reproduce asexually — with no need for males,” reports the New York Times, a strategy that may assure survival in dire times but also reduces genetic vigor.
Asexual reproduction occurs in various species of bees, wasps and ants, and has been documented in turkeys, chickens, sharks and reptiles, said the Times. Scientists say they identified the genetic quirk that allows Cape bees to engage in social parasitism, as the practice of invading other hives is known. The next step is to understand why the genetic adaptation persists. “Why doesn’t it take over the world and why doesn’t it die out?” asked geneticist Matthew Webster of Uppsala University, who led the study.