Giant Honey Bees use “The Wave”

A honey bee in Southeast Asia, called the giant honey bee, practices “shimmering.” This is similar to what we know as the Wave practiced in stadiums around the world, where people stand up, wave, yell, and sit down in a synchronized, traveling wave.
Giant honey bees are different then our honey bees in that they cluster to form a blanket around the outside of their nests. Within a split second, they all flip their abdomens upwards, creating a wave-like pattern across the outside of the bee nest. Shimmering is triggered when predatory hornets fly towards the nest. The hornets normally would eat the honey bees, but the shimmering response acts as a defense mechanism. As soon as the honey bees shimmer, the hornets seem to be confused and fly away from the nest.