Great Vid - Heater Bees

[region2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p007rdq3#p007vrx7

R2

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Great vid - one thing I'm losing - I thought all bees went from housekeeper to forager the video said that they live and die as house bees or live longer as foragers if heated up - have I missed something (being a beginner this is more than possible

 

[skateparkdreams1]

not available in my area... new york in the u.s. frown face

 

[jimmybee]

Great video nice find.

 

[Luminos]

not available in my area... new york in the u.s. frown face

Same here

 

[drstitson]

" thought all bees went from housekeeper to forager the video said that they live and die as house bees or live longer as foragers if heated up"

whilst the general "average" 6 week employment history of workers is correct this is not set in stone.

each nurse bee will be able to feed a different number of larvae whilst on nursery duty.
each forager will forage for a different time.

 

[MandF]

Great vid - one thing I'm losing - I thought all bees went from housekeeper to forager the video said that they live and die as house bees or live longer as foragers if heated up - have I missed something (being a beginner this is more than possible

No, thats what I understood too. During the lifecycle of a worker it starts off as a nurse bee and as it develops it moves on to other duties, and eventually becomes a forager.

So every worker is a nurse bee and a forager.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

whilst the general "average" 6 week employment history of workers is correct this is not set in stone.

each nurse bee will be able to feed a different number of larvae whilst on nursery duty.
each forager will forage for a different time.

Dr S I agree that time spans may differ in various circumstances but the video implied that a nurse bee was a nurse bee for life and a forager had to be nurtured with more heat to become a forager as opposed to a nurse

No, thats what I understood too. During the lifecycle of a worker it starts off as a nurse bee and as it develops it moves on to other duties, and eventually becomes a forager.

So every worker is a nurse bee and a forager.

but whatever it is a fascinating video good find R2

 

[drstitson]

crucial addition to press reports when the prog was first aired"

"Professor Tautz has asked us to make clear that the temperature changes brought about by the heater bees alter the probablity of the tasks that will be performed by larvae when they mature."

so the different temperatures alter the positions of the normal distributions of task performance within the lifespan of the bees.