Regicide is the term used to describe to killing of a monarch. History records kings and queens who have been poisoned, stabbed, shot, beheaded, and blown up. The animal kingdom boasts a kinder way to remove the sovereign: death by cuddling.

When the queen of a bee colony becomes too old or unproductive, the worker bees dispose of her by clustering around her in a tight ball until she overheats and dies. This process is known as the “cuddle death” or “ balling.”

The cuddle death is also used to dispose of predatory wasps that invade the colony — truly an example of killing one’s adversaries with kindness.