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05 May 2012

Sweat bees. I've heard of "sweat bees" since I was a child, and I thought it referred to some of the (larger) little gnats that will swarm around your face on a humid day in the more rural parts of Georgia. I never knew until today they are real bees that will drink our sweat and tears. [More:]That article is a bit sensationalistic, with the bees perched around an open eye in a lab experiment. I think it's kind of cool that there's an insect that lives on the salty oily water we excrete, and I bet I fed a bazillion of them in the screenless upstairs bedroom I shared with my brother in Augusta, GA in the late 70s.
Oh. My. God.
I've never heard of these. But now I think I'll never sleep again.
posted by rhapsodie 06 May | 00:01
They are very tiny.
posted by arse_hat 06 May | 00:32
rhapsodie is probably the MeChazen LEAST likely to ever encounter a sweat bee in her life. Unless there's a bunny who lives right on top of the north pole and we don't know about it yet.
posted by BoringPostcards 06 May | 00:42
So, y'know, be happy. And sleep with your eyes wide open.
posted by BoringPostcards 06 May | 01:04
Srsly OMG. The researchers didn't even know a BEE had LANDED in their EYELID??
posted by rhapsodie 06 May | 02:37
I’d heard of “sweat bees” but thought of them as one of those random things that existed down-south/back-east and never knew they drank sweat/tears. I just searched for more info and found this recent article: Urban Buzz: A New Bee That Sips Sweat.
posted by D.C. 06 May | 09:12
Wow. It's like the fairies in Iolanthe:

We can ride on lovers' sighs,
Warm ourselves in lovers' eyes,
Bathe ourselves in lovers' tears,
Clothe ourselves with lovers' fears,
Arm ourselves with lovers' darts,
Hide ourselves in lovers' hearts.

I find it oddly reassuring that the juice of our toil and sorrow helps to sustain tiny pollinators.


posted by tangerine 07 May | 00:05
The Dirty Water Girlfriend Experience || 11 Sounds Your Kids Have Probably Never Heard:

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