Queen honeybees ‘brainwash’ young drones to behave

QUEEN honeybees rule over a Brave New World society where workers are literally brainwashed to behave, scientists have learned.

The queen exerts her power by producing an aromatic chemical that inhibits negative tendencies in the young nurse drones who feed and groom her. By preventing them from acquiring aggressive traits, she ensures the hive remains a haven of order, peace and harmony.

The brainwashing compound controls learned aggressive behaviour in the naive young bees and avoids conflict, researchers from New Zealand reported in the journal Science.