n.
A bee that is forced to abandon its hive and kill itself after being infected by a parasitic fly. [Zombie + bee.]
Example Citations:
To learn more about a bizarre, zombie-like behavior recently discovered in honeybees, researchers are now tagging the "zombees" with tiny radio trackers.
—Charles Q. Choi, " 'Zombie' Bees Electronically Enhanced to Help Solve Die-Off Mystery: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/120912-zombie-bees-tagged-science-zombies-zombees/," National Geographic News, September 12, 2012
These "zombees" are victims of a parasitic fly, Apocephalus borealis. The fly lays eggs within honeybees, inducing their hosts to make a nocturnal "flight of the living dead," after which the larval flies emerge, having consumed the bee from the inside out.
—David P. Barash, " Who's in Charge Inside Your Head?: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/whos-in-charge-inside-your-head.html," The New York Times, October 6, 2012
Earliest Citation:
Zombees!
—Jamie Jackson commenting on Lisa M. Krieger, "Deadly parasite turns Bay Area honeybees into zombie slaves" ( comment: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19666381?fb_comment_id=fbc_10151133086720235_29099238_10151133175750235\#f3c4a492b4), Mercury News, January 3, 2012
Notes:
And there's this:
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers today sees Zipper, a helpful housefly, falling in love with a queen bee whose swarm is turned into Zombees by a scientist with a diabolical plan.
—Donna Gable, "Disney's animated romances," USA Today, February 14, 1992
Related Words:
Category:
New words. 2013.