Shitfaced bees are falling from the skies around Parliament House as the silly season gets underway. A number of the boozy insects have been spotted staggering around near the parliamentary building after drinking themselves stupid on fermented nectar, while others have been found dead from what appears to be some kind of alcohol poisoning. As Australian Parliament&#x2019;s head beekeeper Cormac Farrell explained, the phenomenon is likely a result of sunny days and rising temperatures.

Alright, let’s just cut to the chase here: a woman in Taiwan had bees in her eyes. She thought it was an eye infection, but it wasn’t. It was bees. “Sweat bees,” more precisely, which is a particular type of bee attracted to the salty sweat of humans. And they were living, thriving, under the swollen flesh of her eyelids—literally drinking her tears. This hellish story comes from Taiwanese news broadcaster <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKb7sFnpP4o" target="_blank">CTS</a>, who explained that the 29-year-old woman—identified by her surname He—was visiting and tidying a relative’s grave recently, pulling out weeds, when she felt what she assumed to be dirt fly into her eye. She cleaned the eye with water, kept calm, and carried on. But after noticing a persistent pain, coupled with the fact that she couldn’t stop tearing up, she decided to take herself to Taiwan’s Fooyin University Hospital. The woman was initially diagnosed with cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, and keratitis, or inflammation of the cornea. But Dr Hung Chi-ting, head of ophthalmology at the hospital, described the moment he discovered He’s eye was in fact full of bees. “I saw something that looked like insect legs,” he told reporters, “so I pulled them out under a microscope slowly, one at a time without damaging their bodies.” Hung later identified the four specimens as sweat bees, which he insisted don’t usually attack people. Apparently these typically innocuous little creatures just can’t get enough of people’s perspiration, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.sg/a-taiwanese-womans-eye-infection-turned-out-to-be-caused-by-bees-living-in-her-eye-and-drinking-her-tears/" target="_blank">Business Insider Singapore</a>, and often nest around fallen trees. It was lucky that He didn’t rub the area of irritation, Hung added, as this could have crushed the bees into her eyes and caused more serious issues. He also took the opportunity to remind anyone practicing Qingming—or Tomb Sweeping Day—to wear goggles while cleaning graves if they want to avoid the same fate. Young He has been discharged and is expected to make a full recovery. Follow Gavin on <a href="https://twitter.com/gav_butler" target="_blank"> Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nudesofgavinbutler/" target="_blank"> Instagram</a> <a href="http://stuff.viceaustralia.com/mailinglist/" target="_blank"> Sign up for our newsletter</a> to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

vice

The VICE Guide to Right Now

Tech

Woman’s Eye Infection Turns out to Be Live Bees Drinking Her Tears

Taiwan

weird

News

&#x201c;A few sharp-eyed folk walking have noticed dead & stumbling #bees on the paths around @Aust\_Parliament and have asked what is going on,&#x201d; Farrell wrote on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jagungal1/status/1182156066559119360). &#x201c;The answer is alcohol! As the weather heats up, the nectar in some Australian flowers will ferment, making the foragers drunk.&#x201d;

Farrell went on to explain that the fermented nectar will usually make the bees &#x201c;a bit wobbly&#x201d;, and if they try to get back into the hive while drunk then the guards will turn them away until they&#x2019;ve sobered up a bit.

&#x201c;The drunk #bees are kept out of the hive to stop the honey from fermenting inside, which could hurt the whole colony,&#x201d; he said. And the security guards appear to be doing their job: according to the &#x201c;online sensors&#x201d; monitoring the state of Parliament House&#x2019;s bee hives, none of the colonies have been negatively affected by the spate of drunk worker bees.

<picture class="article__image"><source srcset="https://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/122067/same-sex-bugs.jpg"><img src="https://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/122067/same-sex-bugs.jpg" alt=""></picture> Photo by Vvillamon, via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/villamon/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> For centuries naturalists have observed and recorded homosexual behavior in nature. Famed explorer George Murray Levick was so shocked by the “astonishing depravity” of the male Adélie penguins he observed on the 1910-13 Scott Antarctic Expedition that he successfully <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/09/sex-depravity-penguins-scott-antarctic " target="_blank">hid his research notebook</a> from the public for 100 years. The recently unearthed document detailed such acts as penguin-on-penguin rape, chick molestation, and displays of gruesome necrophilia, as well as widespread homosexual relations among birds that the disgusted adventurer, discarding all impartiality, called “hooligan males.” Although cultural biases have long obscured observation of “deviant” acts in nature, a spate of recent studies have established that a wide spectrum of species engages in non-reproductive sexual behavior. As the evidence mounts that same-sex sexytime is a common occurrence in the animal kingdom, scientists have come up with a variety of explanations for why going “gay” might be an evolutionarily advantageous trait, despite the fact that doing so cannot result in baby making. Some scientists have posited that non-reproductive orgasm is a way to keep sperm stocks fresh; some guess that animals need the practice; some observe that same-sex sexual (SSS) activity strengthens social bonds or establishes hierarchal structure; and others suggest that animals just wanna have fun. A new study suggests that the reason same-sex copulation is so prevalent among insects—under lab observation up to 85 percent of male bugs bone other males—might just be that they can’t tell each other apart. Scientists have seen the same phenomenon in bugs in the wild, too. In a recent paper published in the scientific journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, biologists Inon Scharf of Tel Aviv University and Oliver Martin of ETH Zurich tackle the “evolutionary paradox” of SSS behavior, noting that while its “costs seem obvious, positive contributions to fitness remain unclear.” After analyzing studies that document the sex life of 110 different species of insects and arachnids, the researchers say they can find no proof that bugs practice intentional “gay” behavior. They conclude that SSS activity occurs because bugs are horny as fuck and can’t be bothered to spend the time or energy to discern the sex of their object of affection. They haven’t evolved the sense to tell the difference between a viable mate and some dude who’s been recently dosed by female pheromones, or a female that’s a different species altogether, or even inanimate objects (the lusty Australian jewel beetle has been known to copulate with alluring <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929235201.htm" target="_blank">brown beer bottles</a>). This “fuck anything that moves” (or doesn’t move) tactic, say Scharf and Martin, is useful because the more insects do it, regardless of who they do it with, the more likely it is that they will spread their genetic material to the greatest number of fertile females. Scharf and Martin write that there is no proof that this willy-nilly boning strategy is part of any homosexual desire. Rather it is the result of a simple calculation: “The cost of rejecting a valid opportunity to mate with a female is greater than that of mistakenly mating with a male.” I spoke to Inon Scharf over email about bug libido, comparative zoology, and how much it sucks to be a mistaken object of affection. VICE: Why wouldn’t insects have evolved a better sense for telling the sexes apart? Is there an adaptive advantage to that kind of “you’ll probably do” mentality? Inon Scharf: This reminds me of a funny saying: “It's better to be rich and healthy than sick and poor.” Of course, it will be better to distinguish 100 percent between the sexes and avoid homosexual mating (if we accept our suggestion that it is a mistake indeed), while paying no costs. However, animals are not perfect, and there are many types of trade-off in nature. Let’s refer to the speed versus accuracy trade-off. Fast decisions increase the chance of mistake. It could be better decide both fast and accurate, but this does not usually happen. Sometimes fast decisions are much more helpful than slow though accurate decisions. This could be also the case here. Let’s think of two males. One is 100 percent accurate with his mate choices (he chooses only females), but the other does some mistakes but is faster. In the case of strong competition, the male choosing fast and inaccurate could be much more successful. Such trade-offs are assumed to enhance variation in nature. What are the benefits of doing a cross-species comparison of this kind of behavior? Don’t many of the insects mentioned in the various studies have vastly different anatomies and behaviors? How consistent is insect sexuality across species in general? This is a good point, which can be asked about any comparative scientific work. On one hand, you are of course right—each system is unique and has its own characteristics. But on the other hand, one important goal of science is to reach a better understanding of life, and this could be done by comparing studies and species, and looking for the common things (while also considering the uniqueness of each system). In short, generalizations are very important in biology, even at the expense of accuracy. What about the male bugs who are getting penetrated by another male? Are there any drawbacks for the male insects that are mistaken for females and mounted? Yes, although not much is known. First, they lose time, which could be devoted for other activities (such as mating themselves with females). This is especially important if life in general is short or if there's a short “time slot” for mating. Second, because there is no genital fit or because they tend to resist this mating, they can get injured. Third, they can get infected with some sex disease, while not getting any benefit (transmitting their sperm to a female).  <a href="https://twitter.com/roseolm" target="_blank">@roseolm</a> Previously - <a href="http://www.vice.com/read/eight-legs-six-eyeballs-and-an-aggressive-personality">Eight Legs, Six Eyes, and an Aggressive Personality</a>

Stuff

A new study suggests that the reason same-sex copulation is so prevalent among insects—up to 85 percent of male bugs bone other males—might just be that they are super horny and can't be bothered to spend the time or energy to discern the sex of their object of affection. 

Why Do Insects Have Gay Sex?

Science

insects

bugs

studies

Vice Blog

Farrell also notes that, for reasons unknown to him, the issue of binge drinking seems to have only affected introduced and exotic honeybees. &#x201c;I have not seen native bees impacted, and Australia has over 2000 native #bee species,&#x201d; he wrote.

Seems like the locals might just be better at holding their liquor.

_Follow Gavin on_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/gav_butler) _or_ [_Instagram_](https://www.instagram.com/gavn.but/)

Bees in Australia are Getting Drunk on Fermented Nectar and Being Refused Re-Entry to the Hive

Woman’s Eye Infection Turns out to Be Live Bees Drinking Her Tears

Why Do Insects Have Gay Sex?

ONE EMAIL. ONE STORY. EVERY WEEK. SIGN UP FOR THE VICE NEWSLETTER.