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Related Experiment Videos

Hot bees in empty broodnest cells: heating from within.

Marco Kleinhenz1, Brigitte Bujok, Stefan Fuchs

  • 1Beegroup Würzburg, Lehrstuhl für Verhaltensphysiologie und Soziobiologie, Universität Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany. thermo@biozentrum.uni-wurzburg.de

The Journal of Experimental Biology
|October 29, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Honeybees exhibit a novel thermoregulation strategy by entering empty brood cells to generate heat. This behavior, involving elevated body temperatures and distinct abdominal movements, effectively transfers heat to regulate brood nest temperature.

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Area of Science:

  • Animal Behavior
  • Thermoregulation
  • Insect Physiology

Background:

  • Honeybee colonies require precise brood nest temperatures (33-36°C) for development.
  • Worker bees are known to regulate temperature by generating heat on brood cell caps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate novel thermoregulation behaviors in honeybees.
  • To understand heat transfer mechanisms from individual worker bees to the brood.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of individually marked worker bees within the brood nest.
  • Measurement of worker bee thorax temperatures (Tth) during various activities.
  • Simulation of heat transfer from bees to brood under controlled conditions.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Worker bees utilize a new heating strategy by entering empty brood cells for up to 45 minutes.
  • Bees entering cells exhibited higher Tth (34.1-42.5°C) than their baseline, indicating active heat production.
  • Heat transfer from bees inside cells warmed adjacent brood cells by up to 2.5°C within 30 minutes.

Conclusions:

  • Honeybees employ an additional thermoregulation strategy involving heat generation within empty brood cells.
  • This behavior, distinguished by elevated body temperature and abdominal pumping, contributes significantly to brood nest thermal stability.
  • Heat transfer is efficient from bees within cells, impacting temperatures several cells away.