Wintering in combless clusters

> In Nepal, A. laboriosa undergoes an interesting seasonal cycle. ... detailed observations of nesting sites at different elevations and at different times of year by Underwood (1990a) indicate that no nest sites are occupied throughout the year. At the lowest elevations (below 2000 m) colonies leave the cliffs in Late November and early December. At the same time isolated swarms can be found in inactive clusters on cliffs or tree trunks near the ground. These swarms apparently subsist largely on the contents of their honey stomachs for up to two months in combless clusters, with very little activity except for occasional foraging on warm days. Temperatures of the swarm core can be as low as 6°C, and individual bees can cool to less than 4°C without ill effects (Underwood, 1990b, 1990c). This overwintering strategy is unique for honey bees, although swarms of A. dorsata are also reported to occasionally rest for a few weeks without building combs (Lindauer, 1957). — Otis, G. W. (2019). A review of the diversity of species within Apis. Diversity in the genus Apis, 29-49.

PLB

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html