Buff-tailed bumblebees drop from air ‘like bricks’ to repel hornet attacks

Bee and hornet hit ground with such force the attacker is sent scarpering, University of Exeter scientists find

Bumblebees are not fast or agile enough flyers to evade an attack from an Asian hornet and an airborne scrap would almost certainly result in victory for the latter.

But University of Exeter scientists have found that when attacked, buff-tailed bumblebees have a dramatic but effective response: simply dropping out of the air like a brick", taking the hornet with them.