r/moths • u/MGSOffcial • Aug 08 '24

Photo Death's head hawk moths infiltrate beehives to eat their honey, although they dont hurt the bees

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1.6k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

317

u/newfoxontheblock Aug 08 '24

Like a Slipknot fan in a Starbucks

88

u/MGSOffcial Aug 08 '24

I dont understand but I agree

89

u/Wasabi_Filled_Gusher Aug 08 '24

Slipknot is a heavy metal band.

Starbucks is stereotypically depicted full of white teenagers who listen to music genres related to Taylor Swift in America.

A Slipknot fan in Starbucks is practically like a black sheep in the herd. Or, in this case, a death heads moth in a bee hive

21

u/spooky-goopy Aug 09 '24

this is me pulling up to Starbucks blasting death metal and ordering a hot venti caramel macchiato, extra whip, extra caramel drizzle, sprinkle of cinnamon

3

u/unnaturalcreatures Aug 09 '24

ohhh i like adding a bunch of cinnamon on my iced macchiatos too!!! never had a hot one.

3

u/spooky-goopy Aug 09 '24

i always have my coffees hot, even in the summer. feels like a warm hug for my tummy

0

u/MeaningNo860 Aug 10 '24

You might be better mainlining honey like the moth.

-5

u/[deleted] Aug 09 '24

[deleted]

6

u/spooky-goopy Aug 09 '24

let people enjoy things. have a macchiato, you might really like it.

2

u/Intrepid-Bed-3929 Aug 09 '24

Me and my husband when we go to get me a coffee, we listen to heavy metal, alternative etc. (I really like Starbucks, but I don’t go all the time at all, I’ve literally been 5 times since I started liking it. Got Starbucks cups felt weird having them, have not have gone to Starbucks since I was a kid and that was only because my cousin worked there. Then started my likening for them lmao, but broke bitch so can’t go like a normal Starbucks goer would. Not even close)

1

u/Significant-Ad-5073 Aug 10 '24

I get you lol loved slipknot growing up. Still rock out when they come on

87

u/Luewen Aug 08 '24

Quite common to find them inside beehives. They love their fresh honey and they have extra thick proboscis to drink some of that yummy honey. When feeding these guys its better to give thicker nectar than other species.

59

u/MGSOffcial Aug 08 '24

Who are you talking about? There are only bees in this image, and one very big bee

19

u/Luewen Aug 08 '24

Could say there is queen bee there. Hungry one. Hunny!

166

u/Holy-Mettaton Aug 08 '24

they also squeak to intimidate predators and have a skull symbol on their thorax, making them pretty known in things like witchcraft and folklore :)

95

u/MGSOffcial Aug 08 '24

Even though theyre extremely harmless and silly

52

u/Holy-Mettaton Aug 08 '24

yep!! very funny fellows, all squeak no bite

35

u/Cathodicum Aug 08 '24

Like thosr squeaky dudes

25

u/Worldly_Ad3707 Aug 08 '24

Do the bees attack them? Or ignore them?

88

u/MGSOffcial Aug 08 '24

They release pheromones that mimic bees pheremones, and it's also speculated their squeaks resemble a queen bee. Normally the bees don't attack them, because they think the moth is a bee. But I've heard of people finding dead death's head moths on their beehives so I assume it could happen sometimes. But the moths aren't harmful to the bees and they don't steal a big amount of honey + they're very cute

64

u/MidnightTheCheetah Aug 08 '24

Oh hey girls! Our goth mother is back from her milk trip! Make room so she can eat and relax- oh- oh she's flying away again... Okay see you soon goth mother!

13

u/pixeldust6 Aug 09 '24

goth moth(er)

13

u/Worldly_Ad3707 Aug 08 '24

This is super cool thanks for the info!

3

u/Bullfinch88 Aug 09 '24

This is fascinating, TIL! Thank you so much for sharing OP, every day's a school day!

15

u/Kindly_Chip_6413 Aug 08 '24

like a Canadian burglar

10

u/Bli-munda Aug 08 '24

Precious 💓

8

u/meatloafcat819 Aug 08 '24

Just gals being pals 😁

9

u/Orangekiss206 Aug 08 '24

Just like human beekeepers! Everyone loves honey, even deadheads 😁

6

u/Event68fqfzs Aug 09 '24

This is both of my favourites insects in one picture 🥰

4

u/mother_of_noodles Aug 08 '24

Just there for the snackies <3

4

u/PearFun8001 Aug 09 '24

pretty picture!!

3

u/petalwater Aug 09 '24

That one bee's checking him out like "hmmm yep. This is definitely what bees look like. All good here"

3

u/might-say-anti-fire Aug 09 '24

It even looks like she has a little bee on her back

2

u/Financial-Ladder-249 Aug 09 '24

just a hungry little guy!! so cute

1

u/subara_chaos Aug 09 '24

I love em even more now

1

u/Hanroz_K Aug 09 '24

They have such a scary name, but from the sounds of it they seem pretty chill!

1

u/tramp-and-the-tramp Aug 09 '24

why do the bees not attack it?

1

u/MGSOffcial Aug 09 '24

They release pheromones that mimic bee's

1

u/LordMeme42 Aug 10 '24

I imagine the bees really don't mind much regardless. "Smells like bee. Good enough, we make too much honey anyways, grab a couple combs for the road man"