Do bees sleep

[beeatshellards]

I was driving along quite hapily yesterday, thinking about bees, and I realised I dont know if bees sleep or not ?? I must be stupid to not know .. or I cant remember!!

 

[Arfermo]

Who really cares. You must be asleep?

 

[drstitson]

only after reading some of the prolonged threads on here!!!!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Funny you should ask, had been wondering that myself.

A quick Google comes up with

http://brookfieldfarmhoney.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/do-honeybees-sleep/


which is a précis of a comprehensive Journal of Experimental Biology paper Caste-dependent sleep of worker honey bees -
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/211/18/3028

and a paper from the University of Texas on how sleep affects the bees ability to communicate

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2010/12/13/biology_bees/

essentially though, they take brief naps, about 30 seconds in the case of young bees, increasing with age (sound familiar?)

 

[beeatshellards]

thanks for that ,now I know MB . Just like us humans need a short nap to keep us going

 

[Skyhook]

They intersperse short spells of working, wandering about socializing, and napping.

A bit like some of my staff really.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

apparently they don't sleep per se just push a few Zzzees out now and then!

O.K. coats already on!

 

[thorn]

The snoring coming from my hives is keeping my wife awake at night.

 

[VEG]

tell her to buzz off

 

[bluesman]

all i know is one summer morning i walked past a shrub and 4bumble bees were still and sleeping -i even stroked the one- he moved a little and nodded off-i concluded that they must of had a sleep over -the sun went down the evening before and it was chilly-looks like the got chilled and stayed put -when i saw them later when the sun came on them -they were active again and working !!!!

 

[Alabamaeee]

Maybe they had Beeapnea

 

[nelletap]

This is a great little article and has a picture and explanation that convinced me http://buzzybeegirl.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/slumbee-parties so I mentioned it in my own blog. It is these little almost obscure questions and finding the answers to them that adds icing to the cake of beekeeping.
Tricia

 

[beeatshellards]

nellatap thanks for posting the pictures proof of bees sleeping or napping dont they look cute

 

[Arfermo]

only after reading some of the prolonged threads on here!!!!

Hear, hear. As for instance the one about what one did in the apuary today. Needless waffle - but..........................................