Hi to all on BEE-l

Martin Hall wrote:
Halve the dimensions of a bee and its weight (assuming
constant density)reduces by a factor of eight, while the
wing area is a quarter what it was; therefore the wing
loading per unit area is halved.

It's known as the 'square-cube law'.

Reply:
But in actuality the density of the inside of the bee's
muscle structure, etc does change.

In Small natural sized bees with the wings longer then then
abdomen it is considerably denser then, larger artificially
enlarged honeybees. This then has bearing on movement for
bees thermoregulating in cold winters and/or hot summers,
besides flight.

For those that want to play around (I did) try pulling the
head and abdomen off of the honeybee and floating the
thorax in water. With bigger bees the easier it floats.
With bees with wings longer then the abdomen (the smallest)
for some reason the thorax sinks. Less pockets for air
inside ?? Less pockets for internal acarapis mites to move
in also??

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby




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