Microcalorimetric investigations of the energy metabolism of honeybee workers, apis mellifera carnica

Abstract

Heat production measurements were performed for individual workers of different age and for worker groups of the honeybee Apis mellifera carnica by means of a 100-ml-Calvet-calorimeter. Individual worker bees show a strong positive correlation of the weight specific heat production rate with age. Increasing numbers of workers together in a group reduce the heat production drastically, so that a group of 12 bees dissipate less heat than one isolated animal. Addition of a queen or of bee brood to a group of 6 workers lowers the heat output, too. These effects could be described as socially conditioned by the use of an endoscope or a microphone incorporated into the calorimetric vessel. Endoscopie observations have been performed in the visible and the infrared region of the spectrum.