#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 299
Heat-stress research indicated not only that female worker #bees struggle more than males in adapting to unusually high temperatures but also wild #bumblebees seem more affected than ‘commercially manufactured’ bumblebees.
#nature
#wildlife
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 298
Bumblebee antennae (which the #bees use to ‘smell’) that had been exposed to 40°C heat events continued to have greatly impaired scent responses 24 hours later (in cooler ‘normal’ temps) & no consistent pattern of recovery.
#bumblebees
#climate
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 298
Researchers in France observed bumblebees travelling over great distances by hitching lifts on passenger airlines. Queens, males and worker females were all recorded engaging in this behaviour although one anomaly was…
1/2
#bees
#bumblebees
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 297
The effects on #bumblebees of exposure to a simulated extreme temperature event appeared more severe in female workers reducing ability to smell floral scents by up to 80%.
Male #bees were less affected with a 50% reduction.
#nature
#wildlife
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 296
A recent study suggests that the ability of #bumblebees to detect floral scents may be severely impaired by heatwaves/high temperature events.
#bees
#nature #biodiversity
#worldbeesanctuary
#insects #science
#education #wildlife
#environment
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 295
# 294 contd.
At this late stage in the nest cycle bumblebee workers can sometimes try to eat eggs laid by the queen who may try to maintain dominance by eating worker laid eggs, head-butting workers and even biting them!
#bees
#nature
#wildlife
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 294
# 293 contd.
The queen now loses some of her dominance over her workers. Some ‘go for it’ and lay eggs of their own.
This causes strife between sister workers and between daughters and queen. Harmony breaks down in the nest.
#bees
#nature
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 293
As the #bumblebee queen starts laying ‘male’ eggs she stops emitting a pheromone telling workers to raise fertilised eggs as workers. All further fertilised eggs laid are raised as queens.
But trouble is brewing!
#bees
#nature
#science
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 292
# 291 contd.
Option 2: Queens lay UNFERTILISED eggs late in the nest cycle which develop into MALE #bees with chromosomes from the queen only. Males have no father.
Laying male eggs signals the start of the end for the nest!
#nature
#bumblebees
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 291
# 290 contd
The queen has 2 options when laying eggs:
1) Use the stored sperm, lay FERTILISED EGGS (with chromosomes from both herself and a male she mated with last year) and these eggs PRODUCE FEMALE WORKERS and QUEENS.
#bees
#nature
#science
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 290
In late summer new #bumblebee queens mate before hibernating.
The queen stores the sperm collected in her body until she chooses how to use it the following year.
This choice determines the sex of her offspring.
#bees
#nature
#science
#insects
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 289
Bumblebee queens prefer to hibernate in north facing slopes sheltered from the sun as these areas are later to heat up in the springtime and so help prevent the queens from emerging too early.
#bees
#bumblebees
#vegan
#nature
#worldbeesanctuary
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 288
On average spring bumblebee queens tend to be larger yet lighter than autumn queens.
Why?
Queens lose 80% of body fat over winter.
Big #bumblebees more likely to survive hibernation.
So larger yet lighter #bees more likely to emerge.
#nature
🐝🌍
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 287
Research suggests that around one in five #bumblebee queens perish during winter #hibernation.
Heavier queens, having greater reserves of fat and glycogen, are more likely to survive than their lighter counterparts.
#bees
#nature
#wildlife
🐝🌍
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 286
Before entering hibernation in the autumn #bumblebee queens build up reserves of fat and glycogen in their bodies.
These queens will lose up to 80% of their fat reserves during #hibernation over the winter period.
#bees
#nature
#science
#insects
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 285
Bees don’t have ears.
#bees
#nature
#science
#education
#biodiversity
#wildlifev
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 284
Bee vision is trichromatic. They perceive three colours of light - green/blue/ultraviolet (and combinations of).
Humans, primates and some new world monkeys are also trichromats but our three colours are blue/green/red!
#bees
#nature
#science
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 283
Larger bumblebees tend to have larger eyes than smaller bumblebees. Larger eyes mean higher light sensitivity which enables flight under lower light conditions. So dawn/dusk low intensity light favours foraging by larger #bees.
#nature
#education
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 282
Foraging early in the morning when flowers have not been visited by competing pollinators may mean that the ‘early bee’ achieves extremely high foraging rates.
Many flowers furnish much higher nectar crops at this time.
#bees
#nature
#wildlife
🐝🌍
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 281
Bumblebees spend long periods in bright sunlight but can’t close their eyes.
UV induced damage is known to impact the eyes of some insects but bumblebee eyes exposed to similar levels of UV-radiation appear unaffected.
#bees
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 280
# 279 contd.
Bumblebees can actively increase their body temperature.
Measurement of temperature and eye reaction speed suggests that observed gain in eye reaction speed could be a result of increased body temperature.
#bees
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 279
When bumblebees move their vision improves!
A study found that walking bumblebees actually process visual information 20% faster than inactive bumblebees.
#bees
#bumblebees
#nature
#science
#education
#wildlife
#worldbeesanctuary
#pollinators
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 278
Bumblebee compound eyes are constructed of 6000 individual ommatidia each of which has a hexagonal face called a facet and which all together form the surface of the compound eye.
So now you know!👀
#bees
#nature
#science
#education
#bumblebees
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Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 277
The 3 simple eyes, ocelli, on the upper front of the bumblebee head are very sensitive to UV light and seem to act as sensors for light levels, but unlike the compound eyes, they are not capable of forming useful images.
#bees
#nature
#science
🌍🐝
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 276
The surface of a bumblebee’s two large compound eyes is smooth and hairless.
Is that not obvious? I hear you think.
Nope - honey bees and many other insects have what are called interommatidial hairs on the eye surface.
#bees
#nature
#wildlife
🐝🌍
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 285.
Bumblebees have five eyes. They have two large apposition compound eyes - one on either side of the head.
On the upper front of the head they also have three small simple single-lens eyes called ocelli.
#bees
#bumblebees
#nature
#wildlife
🐝
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 274
Bumblebees are actually warm-blooded creatures. They have the ability to generate heat internally.
This generation of heat is not constant as with mammals but allows them to thrive in colder regions such as #Alaska.
#bees
#nature
#bumblebees
#wild
I have but my mind works in rhymes and the #theBeeAt3 flows for me rather than #theBeeaAtWhateverTimeIManageToGetToIt 🙄😂
I don’t make it easy for myself. Unless…I went for 3am and was always early. Actually yeah…leave that with me!
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 273
Due to the short time she has to complete the life cycle the #Arctic #Bumblebee queen has a neat trick - she starts internally incubating her eggs already in the abdomen increasing the rate of egg production/egg growth.
#bees
#nature
#wildlife
#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.
# 272
One species of #bumblebee found in #Alaska, the #Arctic Bumblebee, can often be found just sitting in poppies. Not collecting nectar/pollen she uses the flower to help heat herself up as it reflects the heat of the sun.
#bees
#nature
#science
🐝🌍
