Carrying a heavy pollen load causes bumblebees to overheat. North Carolina State University reports.
Pollen is an important component of the wasp diet. These insects fly from flower to flower, picking it up and gradually rolling large balls attached to its legs. These lumps, which are then brought to the nest, can reach up to one-third of the individual’s weight.
Malia Naumchik and her colleagues conducted a study and found that the body temperature of bumblebees with a pollen load is significantly higher than with an “empty” one. In particular, the authors found that the body temperature of bumblebees increased by 0.07 degrees for every milligram of pollen they carried. At the same time, fully loaded insects were 2 degrees warmer than unloaded ones.
Like all insects, the body temperature of bumblebees is determined mainly by the environment. Among bees, bumblebees are extremely cold tolerant and can “shiver” to stay warm on cold days. But nothing is known about their resistance to heat. Because pollen-laden bumblebees are warmer than unloaded ones, this could mean that carrying a full pollen load on a hot day puts them at risk of overheating, as they can’t sweat like mammals.
In the future, the authors plan to find out if global warming really poses a risk to these insects due to warming trends.
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