Researchers Find 6 Bee Nests in 20,000-Year-Old Tooth Socket
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 5
Researchers Find 6 Bee Nests in 20,000-Year-Old Tooth Socket
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 5
Summary
Six stacked bee nests were identified inside a single fossilized tooth socket in a Dominican Republic cave, giving researchers the first fossil evidence of bees nesting in animal bone.
CT scans revealed smooth, cup-shaped nest linings made with waterproof secretions; the nests date to about 20,000 years ago from surrounding sediment, though no bee bodies were preserved.
Three of five sediment layers contained similar socket nests, suggesting solitary bees returned to reuse the protected cavities over generations rather than nesting there only once.
The bones came from hutias and some extinct sloths, likely prey remains dropped by owls, and the nests surfaced during a broader fossil survey rather than a targeted search for bee behavior.
The finding expands what paleontologists can look for in museum collections and cave fossils, more than it changes ideas about bee evolution or biology.