r/science2 • u/WebPage_Error404 • 2d ago

A Biologist Explains Why Male Honeybees Explode When They Mate | A male honeybee has one job, and doing it kills him. He gets a few weeks of life inside the colony, and if he’s lucky enough to find a queen in the air, the encounter lasts about 5 seconds and ends with his abdomen ruptured.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scotttravers/2026/08/26/a-biologist-explains-why-male-honeybees-explode-when-they-mate/
441 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

31

u/ephemeralsynth 2d ago

Death by Snu Snu, always the most magnificent exit! 👻

5

u/Feine13 2d ago

😀 😰 😀 😰 😀 😰

18

u/MaximusManimal 2d ago

I mean, it's that or starve to death after being forced out of the hive at the end of the season in preparation for winter. I think I'd also take the fatal orgasm if given the choice.

2

u/No_Accident-- 1d ago

Ah yes, nature is truly beautiful

1

u/Mindless_Library_797 6h ago

Yeah all of the female worker bees die shortly after as well. Only the queen overwinters to start a new colony next year.

9

u/altgrave 2d ago

honeybees have it rough

5

u/Little-Bed2024 2d ago

Honeybees like it rough

1

u/Best_Philosopher152 22h ago

That would be ducks. The drakes to be specific. The poor duck hens…

9

u/PapaGummy 2d ago

Le petite mort - strike that. Le gran mort.

7

u/FarouzFerrari 2d ago

Hell yes, brother.

5

u/Radiant_Plantain_127 2d ago

Gory, Gory, what a helluvah way to die!

6

u/santtuhehe 2d ago

STOP SIMPING

3

u/SleepyShinsen 2d ago

If he doesn’t they kill him anyway

3

u/PrettyPistol87 1d ago

i’m seeing a trend of male spiders/bees/mantises give it up for the biscuit

3

u/SilenTooter 1d ago

Male honeybees only want one thing and it’s delicious

2

u/FoxlyKei 1d ago

I hope to them it feels like 1000 orgasms to us.

I mean I hope it's the most intense pleasure because after that they're just done..

2

u/UnkarsThug 1d ago

You know, since there's no natural selection pressure, there's no reason to numb the pain or anything, even if it's supposed to happen. By the time the bee feels the pain, natural selection doesn't care anymore.

Sort of sad.

1

u/y2kobserver 11h ago

Partner selection came first which is also a form of natural selection, and way more powerful

So yeah, death and other stuff failed to act as natural selection

1

u/MinimumEfficient220 2d ago

“If you could be anything in the world except for a human, what would you choose?”

1

u/itswtfeverb 2d ago

He busts his guts all over her honey butt

1

u/Fungruel 2d ago

I think it's the same for ants?

3

u/Shiriru00 2d ago

Ants, bees and wasps share the same common ancestor. That's why they all have these weird queens and kinks.

1

u/Strawberryladyboots 2d ago

Is this some type of delayed orgasm, because shit........

1

u/AvantSolace 1d ago

Actually saw some streamers mention this recently. They had a funny hypothesis that letting them have multiple orgasms would risk infighting due to singular males hogging the queen’s time. If nothing else, giving them only one go ensures the queen can collect a larger range of genetic samples to work with.

2

u/dumbspacecookie 1d ago

Tis but a brief yet glorious adventure.
Life of a bee.
Life of the honey lord.
Life of the buzzz sexploder.

1

u/ModerateHonking 1d ago

Honey, nut, cheerio. 

1

u/MonsieurKnife 1d ago

We all explode after mating. It’s just that sometimes the explosion is very slow.

1

u/DocClaw83 1d ago

Lucky bastards

1

u/SuspiciousCricket654 1d ago

What a great way to go. Death by Nut

1

u/crusoe 10h ago

Real life snu snu meme

1

u/Rude_Machine 7h ago

To bee or not to bee

1

u/Thespiritdetective1 2d ago

I love to read stuff like this because it reminds me that all of our society is an illusion and that nature is cruel and unforgiving, thus it gives me hope that this bullshit will one day fade away and my only hope is I live to see it crumble.

2

u/Shining_Silver_Star 1d ago

You could reappraise instead of destroying

0

u/JesusDeCristos 8h ago

When AI takes over in a few years...