A video of a Krispy Kreme donut stall in Mexico being overrun by bees has give viral on TikTok, amassing over eight million views in three days.
The video, posted by an Esthetics Clinic in Las Vegas, shows the classic Krispy Kreme glazed donuts on display with hundreds of bees crawling over them, accompanied by a sign in Spanish that states Krispy Kreme are bee friendly.
After racking up over 8 million views, this clip has sparked a huge debate online, with people questioning whether this close contact with bees is safe for customers and staff.
Why does Krispy Kreme allow bees to swarm donuts?
Beside the swarm of bees, a sign can be seen in Spanish that states that Krispy Kreme is a ‘safe place for bees along their journey.’
Although the video provides no explanation, the staff are going about their day serving donuts as usual to customers, so this would suggest that Krispy Kreme encourages allowing the bees to feast unharmed, as they are an endangered species.
The debate in the comments created a few questions about the video. Are these even honey bees? Why does Krispy Kreme allow this to happen? And do bees not carry germs like cockroaches or flies would?
Bees swarm a Krispy Kreme.
Although Krispy Kreme have no specific information about this ‘bee policy’ on their website, there is a QR code that can be seen in the video, suggesting that more information would be provided upon scanning.
Honey bees are an endangered species, and because their pollination is so vital to our ability to grow food, general advice suggests that you should leave honey bees unharmed and allow them to feed.
Are these honey bees or wasps?
People in the comments were debating whether these were even honey bees at all and speculating that they were wasps. However, one person cleared this up: “Wasps have a prominent yellow color, honey bees, like the ones in the video, have a honey color.”
Once it was straightened out that these were, indeed, honey bees, some people were more on board with the cause as it was clear that the honey bees were feeding on the sugar on the donuts and that these weren’t wasps that are known to be aggressive and sting people.
According to other comments, honey bees are actually pretty docile, and do not sting the Krispy Kreme employees when they are serving the donuts: “I asked an employee in a Krispy Kreme exactly like this in Mexico City… he looked at me like I was crazy and said, ‘No it doesn’t bother me at all.’
Another instance of this phenomenon went viral back in 2023, and prompted some responses from bee experts. As per the comments on the video, people were affronted by the amount of ‘bugs’ on the food, and were stating that they would never eat a donut from there again.
A large debate was had in the comments after people assumed that the bees would be spreading bacteria and laying eggs on the donuts. However, only the queen bee lays eggs, and this is only done inside the bee hive. So, no ‘bee eggs’ to worry about.
According to another comment: “I guarantee the bees are no more dirty than all the surfaces including the display case and packaging these donuts will see.”
A beekeeper weighed in, settling the debate once and for all. “Bees swarming in and on donuts is no big deal,” says Wyoming beekeeper Michael Jordan. “As long as you don’t get bees in your mouth, you’re safe,” he said. “And remember, honey is bee vomit.”
So, there you have it. Although this may seem like a crazy health hazard, Krispy Kreme is doing their part for the protection of bees by allowing them to eat donuts for nutrients.
Honey bees are totally safe to be around and don’t carry any germs. However, people are still divided. Half of the commenters want to know what honey made by bees who eat donuts would taste like, and the other half are fine with bees eating donuts, but don’t feel that they should have to share.
Either way, it seems that these ‘bee friendly’ stores are not common practice anywhere in the US, so no need to worry about having the sugar stolen off your donut by a bee.
If you don’t feel like chowing down on a bee donut, why not check out Krispy Kreme’s new French dessert-themed range for the Paris Olympics?