THE SCIENTIST’S PERSPECTIVE
from the small dish we provided. Only when we removed the water dish did broodnest temperatures climb uncontrollably to dangerous temperatures, demonstrating the critical impor- tance of water for keeping the hive cool. Desperate water collectors frantically searched the greenhouse for any liquids, eventually outsmarting us by covertly sucking moisture from moss growing on the greenhouse ceiling. The most mysterious part of the bees’ incredible water collecting behavior is how the small water collecting task- force is able to sense the thirst of the entire colony. When our bodies need water, we sense it automatically and uncon- sciously, as signals from the brain motivate us to drink. Hon- ey bee colonies, however, face the challenge of social thirst. others for quenching your thirst. Honey bees experience the same problem because the entire colony depends on only a handful of water collectors to tune in to their collective needs.
So how do these collector bees know when it’s time to
cueing in on hive temperature: after we turned on the heat lamp, it took the bees about an hour to start collecting in full force. Instead, they seem to be able to sense the overall thirst of the colony as soon as their existing water stores dry stomach contents to exchange water and nectar with their sisters. Right before the water collection taskforce became activated, we noticed other workers approaching collectors and “begging” them for water by extending their tongues.
When water collectors were unable to provide the requested drink, they rushed from the hive and returned only when a really simple behavior—begging by thirsty workers—can explain the complex and sophisticated colony regulation of water collection. Thirsty bees not only spring into action at the moment of need—they also prepare for future emergencies. We found that after these days of intense thirst, bees had stored water in their wax combs in the same way that they store honey for the winter. Additionally, we observed a set of living water storage tanks: a line of workers with distended abdomens sitting quietly on the edge of the broodnest at the end of the day. When we squeezed their stomachs, they regurgitated fat - er the next time the temperature skyrocketed. We called these workers “water bottle bees” and marveled at their foresight in the face of the harsh greenhouse environment. In nature, too, honey bees perform impressive feats of cooperative be- havior to sense and quench the thirst of their thousands of sisters.
Madeleine Ostwald is a PhD student in Animal Behavior at Arizona State University. She has studied the social behavior of honey bees, tropical stingless bees, and tropical sweat bees. Her current work focuses on understanding the evolution of sociality in carpenter bees of the desert southwest.
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