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submitted 4 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] howrar@lemmy.ca 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

You could say the same about humans working exploitative jobs. You can be unhappy and still stay because the cost of quitting is too high. It's only when it gets really bad that it becomes worthwhile.

Edit: I just learned from another comment that they sometimes clip the queen's wings so they can't leave.

[-] SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 months ago

You could, but bees overproduce honey. There's literally no drawbacks to taking the surplus besides maybe preventing the colony from sending off new queens quite as often, and mildly disturbing the hive when it's done. (A lot of honey bees are pretty chill about it, even without a smoker.)

I don't jive with the wing clipping though.

this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026

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