Have bees ever been known to nest in the carcass of an animal?

Question

I'm referring to the Biblical book of Judges. Samson kills a lion(?) and,upon returning to the site sometime later,finds that bees have made a hive in the would-be attacker's remains from which he harvests honey which he shares,then tells others about this strange event.

Answer 1

It would be unusual, but in an area with few trees bees might set up shop in a skull of a large dead animal.

Answer 2

It is just barely conceivable that the African honey
bee, which has smaller colonies than other honey
bees, might nest temporarily in a hollow dried out carcass of an animal. This would not be a favorable place for them, however.

The story of bees nesting in a carcass is more
likely to have been based on flies that look like
bees. Some of these might have been feeding on
the dead animal and, when they emerged as
adults, they could easily be mistaken for bees.

This wouldn't explain the presence of honey, of
course, but that might be a fanciful addition to the
story, and not really true.

Answer 3

No. Bees don't share space with other insects to start with. Bees also have a sense of smell that tells them the nature of their prospective dwelling place.

Answer 4

strange event.......how ironic.