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Arizona State University researchers have found that larger tropical stingless bee species fly better in hot conditions than smaller bees do. Larger size may help certain bee species better tolerate high body temperatures. The findings run contrary to the well-established temperature-size "rule," which suggests that ectotherms -- insects that rely on the external environment to control their temperature -- are larger in cold climates and smaller in hot ones. The research will be presented today at the American Physiological Society's (APS) Comparative Physiology: Complexity and Integration conference in New Orleans.
[...] In the new study, Duell and her collaborator, Jon F. Harrison, PhD, measured air and thorax temperatures of 10 species of stingless bees -- which varied in body mass between 2 and 120 milligrams -- to assess how well bees fly at high temperatures and the variations seen based on body size. The researchers also measured leaf and flower surface temperatures and air temperatures in sun and shade within the bees' native tropical forest canopy.
With the temperature-size rule in mind, the researchers were expecting the smaller bees to perform better in hot weather. Surprisingly, the opposite was true. Their findings showed that large bees seem to have adapted to the high temperatures and by using their ability to maintain their own heat. This flight performance advantage was also seen in cooler altitudes of the hot Panamanian rain forest.
"Essentially the bigger bees are exposed to higher temperatures -- sometimes in excess of 10 degrees Celsius hotter than air temperature -- because they produce a lot of heat while flying. That same heat producing ability gives them an advantage in cooler regions as well because they can be active earlier in the morning, later into the evening or on cooler days compared to smaller bees," Duell said.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 29 2018, @10:36PM
It was dark. It was almost too dark to see, but if one strained their eyes, they could still manage. If one looked down the long portion of this relatively narrow space, they could see old, tall brick walls to both their left and their right. It was a city alleyway. A man stood in the center.
Something was hanging from the man's buttocks. Upon closer inspection, knowledgeable individuals would be able tell just what it was that was hanging from this man. Yes, it was a prolapsed rectum. But this was no ordinary rectal prolapse; it hung down to the back of his knees. The man was very proud of his prolapse, to the point where he insisted on constantly being naked. This man, whose name was Worick, was actually very famous and respected in this city for this very reason. Worick looked down.
Blood. Bruises. Tears. A naked woman was lying on the ground, under Worick. What had occurred here? The man's fundamental rights had been violated. Earlier, Worick had commanded the woman to suckle on his prolapsed rectum, but she refused. She refused, thus violating men's rights. As such, seeing her in this state was only natural. After lecturing her about freedom, Worick decided to use his fists to once against dispense justice. The man moved.
Slam! Slam! Slam! Each time the man's fists collided with the woman's flesh, she became more and more silent. Each time the man moved, his prolapsed rectum jiggled every which way. It didn't take long for silence to take hold over the alleyway. Justice had been wrought.
Minutes later, a man with an excessively large prolapsed rectum was seen leaving an alleyway; what he left behind was a corpse which embodied injustice itself...