The physiology of the honey bees

Sense for warmth and humidity

In the antennas we must look for also the sense for warmth and dampness. The single bee does not have it with the regulation of its koerpertemperatur easily. If there in the animal world Kaltblueter (change-warm, their koerpertemperatur with the ambient temperature rises and falls) and Warmblueter (warm, which can keep their temperature independent of the air temperature on certain height) is, one could settle the bee between them. As a relatively small animal with large surface it radiates much warmth to the environment. Their body warmth produces it by for muscles in the chest, partly in uncoupling of the wings and legs. In the abdomen the koerpertemperatur is usually somewhat lower than in the chest. Before the bee flies up, it brings its koerpertemperatur on approximately 36 °C. It falls as a single animal already with +8 to +9 °C in Regungslosigkeit and completely solidifies with +6 °C.
As a people the bees are against it true heat artists. They regulate the warmth very exactly in the breeding nest on 35 °C and the air humidity on approximately 40 %, equal which outside temperatures prevail. One heats by stronger moving, gekuelt by Faecheln (flapping of wings movements). This is sufficient not, gets the bees Wassen from outside and applies it between the brood cells, so that it cools by evaporation. On the other hand the bees must create the surplus water of the registered Nektars by Faecheln again from the stick, in order to keep the humidity low.
In the winter the breedingless people gets along with very many lower temperatures than in the summer. The bees pull together to a more or less close ball (winter grape/cluster) and keep themselves mutually warm. They are endeavored not to let the temperature sink in wing tip edge-handed noticeably under 10 °C whereby the temperature can vary itself on the inside in impact-wise jumps moved and between few over 10 °C and 35 °C. In the winter community bees can outlast outside temperatures to -40 °C and among them without damage.