Zombie bees are regular bees infected with a parasitic fly that changes its host’s behavior and eventually leads to death. The parasitic fly attacks the bee by using a sharp appendage to pierce the bee and lay an egg inside it. When the egg hatches, the maggot feeds on the bee’s organs. Infected bees are likely to fly after dark, unlike normal bees, which return to their hives when the sun sets. The zombie bees are also drawn to lights, and as the infection progresses, they begin to fly erratically and eventually lurch on the ground.

Earlier this month, a beekeeper discovered that the zombie bees had spread to Washington. The beekeeper collected samples of the insects, and is one of many citizen scientists sharing data with ZomBeeWatch.org, a website run by San Francisco State University biologist John Hafernik. Hafernik hopes to discover more about how the parasite is spreading, and determine if it is contributing to the collapse of bee colonies.

Bee populations have been dropping rapidly since 2006. Researchers have various theories about the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder, including cell phone use and pesticides. The problem is particularly serious because of honeybees’ important role in pollinating crops. Bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in crop value. The parasitic fly is likely worsening colony collapse, though it’s not yet clear if it has a major impact.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, nearly 80 percent of hives are infected with the parasite. Infected bees have also been found in other parts of California, Oregon, and now, in Washington. Anyone who discovers a suspicious bee is encouraged to report it to ZomBeeWatch.

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Researchers from Johns Hopkins report on what is considered to be the first evidence that honeybees’ behavioral patterns are linked to the reversible chemical “tagging” of their genes. The findings may be relevant to other animals, including humans, as well.

Working with bee expert Dr. Gro Amdam, the team identified the two different “professions” that female bees generally enter. They either become “nurses,” which tend to the queen and her larvae at the hive, or “foragers,” which leave the hive to gather pollen and other supplies. While all of these bees are “genetically identical sisters,” they still perform different tasks. The scientists wanted to know why.

They started the experiment by filling new hives with bees of the same age (to control for age influencing the chosen “career paths”) and watched as the bees divided themselves up into nurses and foragers. Studying their subjects’ DNA, the scientists discovered 155 regions with different tag patterns depending on if the bee was a forager or a nurse.

To test the permanency of these tags, they removed all the nurses from the hive to see if the foragers would change jobs. When the bees did change, the researchers studied the DNA differences again, this time between foragers and foragers-turned-nurses. One hundred and seven DNA regions were tagged differently between the two groups.

Amdam explained the findings. “It’s like one of those pictures that portray two different images depending on your angle of view,” she says. “The bee genome contains images of both nurses and foragers. The tags on the DNA give the brain its coordinates so that it knows what kind of behavior to project.”

The researchers hope their results will be used to better understand human behavioral issues such as learning, memory, mood disorders and stress responses — all of which involve interactions similar to those in the study.

So are the specifics of my morning routine a result of my DNA? It’s certainly possible.

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