Brood Incubation

[Liam C Ryan]

In my Beekeeping Study Notes one of the function of a newly hatched worker ,1st to the 3rd day, is brood incubation as well a cell cleaning. Can someone explain how the bee helps with the incubation . Doing exam in August.
Regards
Liam C

 

[Dishmop]

Bee thermostat..?

 

[Rosti]

If I have understood your question correctly then.
(A) Bees can 'disengage' their wings and 'beat' their flight muscles independently. This allows them to generate heat without external movement. As such they can control the temperature of the brood space independently to the extenal environment. The reverse being fanning of course. the same principle is employed over winter to keep the winter cluster warm.

There is a good summary in The Buzz about Bees - Biology of a Superorganism by Jurgen Tautz, I would recomend the book as part of wider reading in any case (and some great photography as well). Good luck with the revision! R

 

[Finman]

.
Bees keep the brood area temperature constant.

Quite newly has been invented that holed in brood area serves as incubation cells. A bee goes inside and produce extra heat.

Furthermore a brood produces as much heat as a resting bee.

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/206/2/353

In early winter bees have brood.

Reseach 1958!
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/4/930

and so on. http://www.bing.com/search?q=Temperature+Regulation+honeybee&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

 

[drstitson]

agree that this is covered well in Tautz.

also try and catch repeats of the fairly recent Richard hammond BBC science series - one episode featured this.

what interests me is the fact that the multiple matings of the queen and bee sex determination mechanism would appear to be an ideal route to produce the necessary scattered holes in brood for warming.