Gut bacteria let vulture bees eat rotting flesh without getting sick

Specialized microbes help the insects avoid food poisoning

image of vulture bees on a piece of chicken

Vulture bees forage for protein from this piece of rotting chicken in a Costa Rican jungle. Scientists hung pieces of the fowl tissue from trees to attract the bees.

Q. McFrederick

Mention foraging bees and most people will picture insects flitting from flower to flower in search of nectar.