Scientists have observed that Asian honey bees collect chicken feces, buffalo dung, and even human urine, then smear it around the entrances of their nests to stop attacks from marauding giant hornets.
"We're adding another, rather complicated defense that Asian honey bees have to an already impressive list of defenses they have to prevent these hornets from destroying their colonies," she told AFP. Giant hornets, who are 4 to 5 times bigger than honey bees, are well-armored killing machines with a venomous sting and powerful mandibles for crushing, dismembering, and chewing prey.
They also found that colonies that were exposed to secretions from glands that giant hornets use to mark nests for attack had more fecal spots around their nest entrance after six hours than colonies exposed to a control substance.