Seeley Thomas D, Kleinhenz Marco, Bujok Brigitte, Tautz Jürgen
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, 14853, Ithaca, NY, USA,
Naturwissenschaften. 2003 Jun;90(6):256-60. doi: 10.1007/s00114-003-0425-4. Epub 2003 May 20.
In a bivouacked swarm of honey bees, most individuals are quiescent while a small minority (the scouts) are active in choosing the swarm's future nest site. This study explores the way in which the members of a swarm warm their flight muscles for take-off when the swarm eventually decamps. An infrared camera was used to measure the thoracic (flight muscle) temperatures of individual bees on the surface of a swarm cluster. These are generally the coolest bees in a swarm. The warming of the surface-layer bees occurred mainly in the last 10 min before take-off. By the time a take-off began, 100% of the bees had their flight muscles heated to at least 35 degrees C, which is sufficient to support rapid flight. Take-offs began only a few seconds after all the surface-layer bees had their flight muscles warmed to at least 35 degrees C, but exactly how take-offs are triggered remains a mystery.
在露宿的蜂群中，大多数个体处于静止状态，而少数个体（侦察蜂）则积极地为蜂群选择未来的筑巢地点。本研究探讨了蜂群最终离开时，蜂群成员如何为起飞而温暖其飞行肌肉。使用红外摄像机测量蜂群表面单个蜜蜂的胸部（飞行肌肉）温度。这些通常是蜂群中最冷的蜜蜂。表层蜜蜂的升温主要发生在起飞前的最后10分钟。到起飞开始时，100%的蜜蜂其飞行肌肉被加热到至少35摄氏度，这足以支持快速飞行。在所有表层蜜蜂的飞行肌肉都被加热到至少35摄氏度后仅几秒钟就开始起飞，但起飞究竟是如何触发的仍是个谜。
