One of the earliest recorded instances dates back to the first century B.C., during a Roman campaign led by Pompeii the Great against the Heptakometes in Asia Minor. Instead of weaponizing the bees themselves, the defenders used toxic honey as a trap. Pompeii’s soldiers, unaware of the honey’s seasonal toxicity, consumed it eagerly, only to succumb to severe illness. In their weakened state, they were easily defeated by the Heptakomete warriors. Similar naturally occurring toxic honey has been found in various parts of the world, including South America and New Zealand, where certain plant nectars can render honey dangerous to human consumption.

Beyond honey’s use as a biological weapon, mead—a fermented honey drink—was also leveraged in warfare. In 946, St. Olga of the Slavs used large quantities of mead to intoxicate and eliminate her enemies at a funeral feast. Likewise, in 1489, Russian forces exploited mead’s effects to defeat a pursuing Tartar army.

Of course, bees themselves have often been employed as direct weapons. Romans learned not only to avoid taxing honey from hostile territories but also to use beehives in battle. Rather than employing deception, the Romans used honeybees as "meat-seeking missiles" and sent beehives catapulting into the ranks or fortifications of their enemies. The Dacians turned this tactic against the Romans, launching their own beehive projectiles.

Throughout medieval warfare, various armies used bees to fortify defenses. In the eleventh century, Emperor Henry I’s troops repelled an attack by Duke Geiselbert of Lorraine by launching beehives. Richard the Lionheart reportedly deployed hives against Saracens during the Third Crusade, while defenders in Hungary, Portugal, and Turkey thwarted sieges by hurling bees from battlements. Even naval battles saw the use of bees—pirates in the Mediterranean threw hives onto enemy vessels, allowing swarms to incapacitate larger crews.

In modern times, the strategic application of bees continued. The Tiv people of Nigeria weaponized bees by storing them in poisoned horns, deploying them in battle. During the American Civil War, Union forces were disrupted when Southern artillery inadvertently shattered hives, causing widespread chaos. Bees were even used during World War I, where tripwire traps were set to tip over hives onto unsuspecting enemy soldiers. There are reports that the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War harnessed the aggressive Apis dorsata bees to attack American forces. Additionally, early concerns about biological warfare in Southeast Asia turned out to be misinterpretations of mass bee defecation flights, known as "yellow rain." In 2025 it was reported that a Ukrainian assault unit claimed it deployed beehives against Russian troops in the Donetsk region, dropping the hives into an occupied bunker.

Bees have served not only in battle but also in personal defense. The Roman poet Vergil reportedly protected his valuables by hiding them in his beehives. In Germany, marauding thieves were driven away when nuns turned their hives loose on the intruders, earning their town the name “Beetown.” An elderly German beekeeper in 1933 managed to scare off three robbers simply by upsetting a hive, marking them with stings that led to their easy identification and arrest. Daniel Wildman, an 18th-century showman, supposedly fought off attacking mastiffs by unleashing swarms against them.

Beyond historical fact, folklore embraced bee-related warfare myths. Saint Gobnat of Ireland once drove off cattle thieves by sending a swarm of bees after them, forcing them to return the stolen livestock. Her association with bees extended beyond defense—she was believed to use honey for healing, a practice now recognized for its antibacterial properties. In Celtic tradition, bees were seen as messengers between the earthly and spiritual realms, reinforcing Gobnait’s status as a protector and healer and matron saint of bees and beekeepers,

• In addition to bees, there are many documented cases of the use of insects as biological weapons. Ancient and medieval armies launched containers of venomous spiders, scorpions, and aggressive ants over fortress walls to create chaos and terror among defenders, forcing them to abandon their positions while dealing with the immediate threat of multiple stings and bites. Defenders would pour containers filled with wasps, hornets, or fire ants down upon attacking forces scaling walls or attempting to breach gates, creating immediate confusion and forcing attackers to retreat while managing painful stings.