Body temperature

[Karol]

Does any one know what the normal operating 'body' temperature of bees is?

Regards,

Karol

 

[drstitson]

it varies.

 

[For want of a better word]

Spiders can survive minus 4 celcius..............

 

[Erichalfbee]

You could look here
http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20100224_2

 

[victor meldrew]

Does any one know what the normal operating 'body' temperature of bees is?

Regards,

Karol

Researching will only serve to confuse you
It is often stated (With authority) that the flight muscles of a honey bee wont work in temperatures below 46F .
This is clearly rubbish as I've seen cleansing flights on bright cold Winter days with few if any casualties !
The act of flying must in it'self generate enough heat within the muscle to maintain activity ? If this wasn't the case then bees wouldn't be able to exploit the heat generating properties of shivering their flight muscles in order to sustain sufficient heat within the cluster to ensure survival of the colony?
VM

 

[oliver90owner]

normal operating 'body' temperature

That depends on what you mean by 'normal'. There is a wide range (biologically speaking for a complex organism).

They are usually OK above a little more than 8 degrees Celsius. Not normal operating temperature, but the minimum (below which they would fall away from the winter cluster and die (cooled even more!)). Clustering is a normal 'mode of life' for long periods of the lifetime of some bees, however.

Apart from that they will be a few degress above ambient, depending on the activity at the time.

There are reports of 'heater bees' somewhere on the net. They must operate at quite an elevated temperature compared to the normal brood nest. Apart from that 40 degrees is not uncommon in some areas where bees live, so I would think the upper temperature is going to be towards, 50 degrees, where denaturing of enzymes/proteins becomes a life threatening factor as, well as dehydration.

So I would say it varies from about 8 to about 50 degrees Celsius?

Regards, RAB

 

[victor meldrew]

normal operating 'body' temperature

That depends on what you mean by 'normal'. There is a wide range (biologically speaking for a complex organism).

They are usually OK above a little more than 8 degrees Celsius. Not normal operating temperature, but the minimum (below which they would fall away from the winter cluster and die (cooled even more!)). Clustering is a normal 'mode of life' for long periods of the lifetime of some bees, however.

Apart from that they will be a few degress above ambient, depending on the activity at the time.

There are reports of 'heater bees' somewhere on the net. They must operate at quite an elevated temperature compared to the normal brood nest. Apart from that 40 degrees is not uncommon in some areas where bees live, so I would think the upper temperature is going to be towards, 50 degrees, where denaturing of enzymes/proteins becomes a life threatening factor as, well as dehydration.

So I would say it varies from about 8 to about 50 degrees Celsius?

Regards, RAB

I've wondered about the so called 'Heater bees' oft called superbees (nowt to do with norton ).
I can see the logic of this , bees needing to eke out their stores would know the required number of bees consuming stores and converting same into heat at varying cluster size/ambient temperature?
I can imagine all workers having the ability to do so but being called on to suit the demands of any given snapshot in time , including brood rearing when an elevated temperature is also required ! Having said that ,I have read that brood is warm blooded anyway? Hmm! ?.
VM

 

[Cazza]

There's a good summary regarding heater bees here: www.lancashirebeekeepers.org.uk/documents/heater_bees.html
taken from Tautz's book.
Cazza

 

[victor meldrew]

There's a good summary regarding heater bees here: www.lancashirebeekeepers.org.uk/documents/heater_bees.html
taken from Tautz's book.
Cazza

Thanks for the link
VM

 

[For want of a better word]

Surely there must be a limit set by the amount of oxygen( partial pressure?) than can pass via the trachael vents into the bees oxytransferr system and then used to combust the sugars.. then get rid of the carbon dioxide produced... I wonder if "montain" bees run cooler than their sea level cousins?

|||||||||||||||||Not just bugs !

 

[Finman]

.
The highest temp what I have seen in reports is 42C. A queen landing on the surface of swarm, the thorax temperature.

 

[WI-USA-BEEK]

From what I have read, the bee must maintain a temp of 45F to be able to fly. If its wing muscles fall below this they are doomed. Yes bees will take cleansing flights at temps below this. But they must return in short order or they simply fall like stones to the ground/snow and are done for. On Sunny days with little or no wind, there are lots of poo flights at 32f. In the 40's they can become quite active buzzing around the hive.

Die hard old timer field bees will start working at about 50f, 55f things start getting busy, 60f, sunny, and no wind is what we northern beeks all hope for when spring arrives.