A recent study conducted by researchers at UC Riverside in California conducted in Costa Rica, reported by gizmodo.com, has stated that a specific species of bee has evolved into eating dead flesh.  According to the article,  "the researchers, who published their research in the American Society of Microbiologists’ journal mBio, say they aimed to investigate the vulture bees’ microbiomes—that is, the makeup of microorganisms in the bees’ guts—to see how “extreme diet switches” happen.  The article continued to say that to attract the vulture bees—a.k.a. carrion bees—the researchers set up pieces of raw chicken in the forest. When the bees arrived, they not only swarmed the raw, dead flesh, but also collected bits of it. The vulture bees, which are stingless, used their hind legs for collecting the chicken; a surprise considering other carrion-feeding bees use their hind legs to collect pollen.

The article further explains that the researchers found that the bees ad guts rich with Lactobacillus; a genus of bacteria that is often present in fermented foods humans eat, such as sourdough. The researchers also found Carnobacterium, a bacteria associated with flesh digestion.  To read this article in more detail, click here, alternatively, you can find the full research paper, by clicking here.