The creature on earth that can "drink" the most is actually the bumblebee!

In a corner of nature

Hidden a shocking secret

The most "drinking" creature on earth

Not human

But a seemingly inconspicuous bumblebee

Why is this?

In nature, animals have an upper limit to their tolerance for alcohol . Alcohol is a product of the natural fermentation of sugar. It exists in many fruits and nectars, and some animals may occasionally taste these alcoholic delicacies. However, most animals will suffer certain harm if they drink too much or too concentrated alcohol. Even those animals that can drink more will feel uncomfortable once they encounter alcohol concentrations exceeding 4% . Therefore, even though alcohol can provide more energy than sugar, animals generally do not use alcohol as a source of energy because of its strong anesthetic properties.

The Eastern giant bumblebee is the only animal that can use alcohol as an energy source, according to current research. Even if these bumblebees consume large amounts of alcohol over a long period of time, they will not get drunk or sick because they can quickly clear the alcohol from their bodies.

Other animals are more susceptible to getting drunk than the Oriental bumblebee, mainly because their bodies have limited ability to process alcohol , and problems can easily arise if they consume too much alcohol. For example, tree shrews, which eat palm nectar that contains alcohol, are used to drinking alcohol at a concentration of about 3.8%. However, if they are allowed to drink alcohol at a concentration of more than 10% for two weeks in the laboratory, their livers will have problems.

How do Eastern hornets manage to stay drunk?

Through experiments, researchers found that even if the Eastern giant hornets consumed a lot of alcohol, there was no change in their behavior , and it did not even affect their lifespan . They were able to build neat nests and would not attack uncontrollably when faced with threats.

This is completely different from the bees participating in the same experiment. As long as the bees drink high concentrations of alcohol, their behavior will quickly get out of control. Even if they only consume low concentrations of alcohol, their behavior will become abnormal.

The reason why the Oriental bumblebee can drink so much is because there is a special enzyme in their body that can quickly break down alcohol. The production of these enzymes in the bumblebee's body is the result of their own gene expression, which means that the bumblebee's ability to drink a lot without getting drunk is innate. Because of this, bumblebees and yeast, a microorganism that can produce alcohol, have formed a "symbiotic" relationship of mutual help. Yeast lives in the intestines of bumblebees, and bumblebees also help yeast spread to various fruits, providing an environment for yeast to grow. At the same time, the alcohol produced by yeast can also help bumblebees disinfect the food they collect and ensure the "food safety" of the larvae.

These findings about bumblebees have given researchers a deeper understanding of how alcohol affects the physiology and behavior of organisms, and may one day lead to ways to treat alcoholism in humans .

The wonder of nature is

Even small creatures

There is also "big energy"

In the future

We may be able to

Learn more from these tiny insects

A giant step forward for human science!

Source: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Science Daily.

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