Flying, nectar-loaded honey bees conserve water and improve heat tolerance by reducing wingbeat frequency and metabolic heat production.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 121(4): e2311025121, 2024 Jan 23.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38227669
ABSTRACT
Heat waves are becoming increasingly common due to climate change, making it crucial to identify and understand the capacities for insect pollinators, such as honey bees, to avoid overheating. We examined the effects of hot, dry air temperatures on the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that honey bees use to fly when carrying nectar loads, to assess how foraging is limited by overheating or desiccation. We found that flight muscle temperatures increased linearly with load mass at air temperatures of 20 or 30 °C, but, remarkably, there was no change with increasing nectar loads at an air temperature of 40 °C. Flying, nectar-loaded bees were able to avoid overheating at 40 °C by reducing their flight metabolic rates and increasing evaporative cooling. At high body temperatures, bees apparently increase flight efficiency by lowering their wingbeat frequency and increasing stroke amplitude to compensate, reducing the need for evaporative cooling. However, even with reductions in metabolic heat production, desiccation likely limits foraging at temperatures well below bees' critical thermal maxima in hot, dry conditions.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Néctar de las Plantas
/
Termotolerancia
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article