We have the general idea of how honey is made. Busy bees fly from flower to flower collecting nectar, which is later turned into that golden thick liquid that people use in everything from food to cosmetics. The truth is, some honey isn’t made from nectar at all. There are actually bees that make their honey from a completely different ingredient: meat! That’s right, carnivorous species bees do exist and can be found in nature. Don’t panic — these bees aren’t going to be hunting you down. They prefer their meals to be D.O.A. — dead on arrival. As their name suggests, vulture bees eat the decaying flesh of dead animals. While the diet of vulture bees definitely makes them stand out, they’re mostly ignored by both scientists and the general public. After all, they’re not kept in backyards, nor do they play an important role in nature. You may be wondering how the bees “chew” the meat. Vulture bees have developed sharp tooth-like points in their mouths that are used to rip and shred meat from a carcass, ready to coat in their special saliva, which breaks down the meat. Isn’t nature wonderful? Obviously, honey made from meat would never pass muster with vegetarians, but there’s no evidence that vulture bee honey is toxic. Of course, there’s no evidence that it’s safe either. Not to worry — not only is the idea of eating honey made from rotting meat a little off-putting for humans, vulture bees need all of the honey they make for themselves. So, you’ll never be faced with the dilemma of having to choose whether you’ll try it or not.
