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10-Minute Presentation

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-min: P-IE, Apiculture

Thermoregulation and population dynamics in honey bees under heat stress

Sunday, November 10, 2024
2:48 PM – 3:00 PM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 221 C, PCC
Oral Presentation
Models suggest that heat waves associated with global warming will be dangerous for many animals, but we generally lack data on the responses of animals to realistic heat waves, especially the terrestrially dominant social insects. Honey bee colonies are traditionally thought to be highly resistant to heat stress as evaporative heat loss and fanning permit thermoregulation of the brood. However, prior studies have examined short-term heat stress. This study examined how honey bee colonies in Arizona, where summer temperatures exceed 40°C, manage thermoregulation and how this affects their population dynamics. We monitored nine hives, recording multiple hive temperatures every 30 min and tracking population changes biweekly. Colony populations fluctuated but remained stable throughout the summer (May-August), with average low, median, and high temperatures around 29, 35, and 41°C, respectively. Brood center and edge temperatures averaged near 35°C, but broods often experienced daily temperatures above 37°C or below 33°C. Larger colonies exhibited better thermoregulation. Periods of higher internal thermal variation were linked to population decline. These findings suggest that colonial thermoregulation was likely challenged sufficiently by current Arizona conditions to impair colony growth, though we cannot exclude the effects of the weather on foraging conditions. Higher summer temperatures associated with global warming will likely negatively affect honey bee population growth in Arizona and other regions that experience summer temperatures above 40°C. Supported by USDA 2022-67013-36285.