10 Interesting Things The Big Bang Theory Taught Us About Science

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8. Entomology - Queen Bee Bitch Fights

In episode 19 of season 2 a new, more successful actress moves into the apartment building and begins receiving more attention form the guys than Penny. She takes advantage of this and uses them to set up her various appliances and perform other menial tasks for her. In typical fashion, Penny begins to feel that her territory - and her males - are being tread upon. While talking to Sheldon he informs Penny that often times a Queen bee will attempt to take over another queen's hive. The queen must either submit and allow the intruder to take over or fight for her hive. While the way in which Sheldon explained this phenomena is a bit off, the general concept is true. Usurpation is a term in which a swarm of bees led by the queen will invade an existing hive intent on killing the royal one and being accepted as the new leader. However, the act is not performed by the queen alone €“ an entire swarm will invade a colony intent on overthrowing the queen. This behavior has also been observed in wasps, beetles, and even ordinary flies. While it has been postulated that this behavior is the first in a step of evolutionary growth among insects, the actual behavior has been poorly studied. It does bring up a decent point €“ that human females aren't the only species that use social groups to dominate others.