> So it might be possible that tight clustering for long periods of time has not been a ubiquitous feature for honey bees over most of their history.

This ignores the fact that most honey bee colonies do not nest in cavities. They cluster anyway, for protection from the elements, protection from predators and to control the internal temperature of the colony just as a warm blooded animal controls its internal temperature. This means both keeping it warm and keeping it cool, depending on the external temperatures.

PLB

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