Bees beating their wings
On a fine day at the end of May, you observe numerous bees clustered in front of the hive entrance:
You infer that:
- A swarm is preparing to depart.
- The “climate bees” are ventilating to reduce the humidity of the abundant spring nectar flow.
- The workers are performing a calling behaviour to guide the foragers back to the hive.
View answer
Correct answer: 2
The creation of an air current by fanning bees positioned in front of the hive entrance makes it possible to reduce the humidity of freshly collected nectar before it is capped and stored. These fanning bees exhibit the same behavior when the temperature inside the hive rises dangerously and threatens to melt the combs. Water carriers deposit small droplets of water on the frames. Evaporation helps to counteract overheating of the colony. The posture of fanning bees is characteristic: their head is oriented toward the entrance, their legs are gripping the landing board, their wings beat rapidly, and the abdomen is held in a horizontal position.
By contrast, during the recruitment (calling) behavior, workers are located near the entrance, sometimes on the face above it, sometimes close to the hive roof. The abdomen is pointed upward, and the last abdominal segment is opened to allow the release of the recruitment pheromone produced by the well-known Nasonov gland.
 |
► Read the article: Observations at the hive entrance
