Abstract
The ambient temperature and relative humidity affect the metabolic and physiological responses of bees, thus affecting their life activities. However, the physiological changes in bee due to high temperature and high humidity remain poorly understood. In this study, we explored the effects of higher temperature and humidity on the epiphysiology of bees by evaluating the survival, tolerance and body water loss in two bee species (Apis cerana and Apis mellifera). We also evaluated the changes in the activity of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes in their body. We observed that under higher temperature and humidity conditions, the survival rate of A. mellifera was higher than that of A. cerana. On the other hand, a comparison of water loss between the two species revealed that A. mellifera lost more water. However, under extremely high temperature conditions, A. cerana was more tolerant than A. mellifera. Moreover, under higher temperature and humidity conditions, the activity of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes in bees was significantly increased. Overall, these results suggest that high temperatures can adversely affect bees. They not only affect the survival and water loss, but also stimulate oxidative stress in bees. However, unlike our previous understanding, high humidity can also adversely affect bees, although its effects are lower than that of temperature.
Highlights
The survival of the two species under different temperature and humidity conditions showed that the survival time of the A. mellifera was slightly higher than that of the A. cerana
A significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between the survival rate of A. cerana and A. mellifera at 35 ̊C and 60% Relative humidity (RH), whereas, no significant differences were found among the other treatments (Table 1)
In the long-term evolution process, insects have evolved a series of behavioral responses and physiological mechanisms to adapt to extreme environmental temperatures [25]
Summary
The ambient temperature affects the metabolic and physiological responses of bees, and affecting in their life activities [1,2,3] such as growth, development, reproduction and survival [4,5,6] It decreases the hatching rate, deforms the wings and decreases the learning ability of bees [7], as well as increases their susceptibility to infection [8]. The antioxidant enzyme system can effectively eliminate active oxygen from the body, and the detoxification enzyme system can help resist the damage caused by metabolic poisons and harmful substances. These systems are in equilibrium under normal conditions, environmental stresses such as high temperatures can disrupt this balance, causing cell damage or even death [22]. We explored the changes in the physiological activities of honeybees under high temperature and humidity conditions, and compared their adaptability
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