Journal
THERMOCHIMICA ACTA
Volume 382, Issue 1-2, Pages 221-227Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/S0040-6031(01)00740-7
Keywords
Apis mellifera; honeybee; sleep; calorimetry; thermoregulation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Heat production rates of sleeping honeybees were determined at ambient temperatures between 20 and 35 degreesC. They increased with temperature from 4.7 mW g(-1) (S.D. 2.2 mW g(-1)) at 20 degreesC (n = 18) up to a value of 12.3 mW g(-1) (S.D. 7.6 mW g(-1) n = 12) at 35 degreesC. This indicates that honeybees behave ectothermicly during sleep. The preferred ambient temperatures for sleep were investigated in a temperature choice experiment. The highest number of sleeping bees were found at 28 degreesC. Evaluation of sleep behaviour in an observation hive revealed that bees prefer the same ambient temperature of about 28 degreesC under natural conditions. Honeybees save energy during sleep with an ectothermic behaviour, but do not reduce their metabolic rates as much as possible by choosing places in the beehive with the lowest temperature. Instead, they prefer places with moderate intermediate temperatures, probably in order to promote regenerative processes during sleep. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available