Beetles beware Robert Valentic/naturepl.com
A bite from a funnel web spider delivers neurotoxins that can kill an adult in hours, or a child in minutes. Their fangs are so sharp and powerful that they can pierce fingernails. Yet they might turn out to be our friends in the fight against the small hive beetle, a dangerous new threat to bees.
In southern Africa, where it originates, the small hive beetle – Aethina tumida – is just a minor pest. African honeybees defend their nests so aggressively, and keep them so tidy, that the invader rarely gets a foothold. Outside …
