Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vocal bamb here. Did you know that
Speaker 1: one bee has to fly approximately nine miles that's a
Speaker 1: kilometers or about three times around the earth and gather
Speaker 1: nectar from some two million flowers to make a mere
Speaker 1: pound or half a kilo of honey. That's a lot
Speaker 1: of work for just one little APIs malafera. So it's
Speaker 1: a good thing that honeybees are well organized, task oriented
Speaker 1: insects who stick together in huge families of several thousand
Speaker 1: workers per hive. And did you know that the honeybee
Speaker 1: is the only insect that produces food eaten by humans
Speaker 1: and that honey never expires. Archaeologists have found pots of
Speaker 1: still edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are thousands
Speaker 1: of years old. That's because honey is hygroscopic. It's great
Speaker 1: at absorbing moisture, so it'll basically desiccate any bacteria or
Speaker 1: mold that try to eat it. And it's a set
Speaker 1: with a pH somewhere between three point five and four
Speaker 1: point oh. It's about as acidic as orange juice. A
Speaker 1: groundbreaking study led by biologists at the University of California,
Speaker 1: San Diego consolidates scientific data from around the globe to
Speaker 1: show that the honeybee is the most successful pollinator in
Speaker 1: the world, the most important single species of pollinator in
Speaker 1: natural ecosystems, and the single most frequent pollinator of naturally
Speaker 1: occurring flowers and non crop plants on Earth. That's a
Speaker 1: pretty big, vital deal for the planet and no small feet.
Speaker 1: For creatures with a brain the size of a sesame seed,
Speaker 1: they're amazing. B two B communication skills allow them to pipe,
Speaker 1: that is, buzz, waggle or advance, and beard in order
Speaker 1: to protect themselves and their life's mission making honey But
Speaker 1: let's go back to that last one. What the heck
Speaker 1: is bearding and why do honeybees do it? It's all
Speaker 1: about keeping cool. Honey Bees are able to regulate the
Speaker 1: temperature of their hive throughout year. In winter months, they
Speaker 1: raise the hives temperature by huddling together and vibrating their
Speaker 1: wings to generate body heat and keep warm. It's sort
Speaker 1: of like if you were too jog in place or
Speaker 1: rub your arms to warm up. But in the summer months,
Speaker 1: the average temperature of the hive should be between ninety
Speaker 1: and nine degrees fahrenheit that's thirty two thirty five celsius.
Speaker 1: If it gets too hot, the bees will fan their
Speaker 1: wings to lower the temperature and circulate air throughout the hive.
Speaker 1: Sometimes they collect and place droplets of water inside the
Speaker 1: hive and then queue up at the hives entrance and
Speaker 1: fan their wings, creating air currents that evaporate the water
Speaker 1: and push cool air inside. And while the fanners are
Speaker 1: outside fanning, there are bees on the inside fanning as well.
Speaker 1: In summer severely hot weather, when the temperatures rise to
Speaker 1: extremes and the hives population is large and crowded due
Speaker 1: to an abundance of nectar flow, the bees head and
Speaker 1: mass out of the nest and cluster outside the hive
Speaker 1: to try to remain cool and keep the hive from overheating,
Speaker 1: which could kill the next generation of bees that are
Speaker 1: growing or hatching. Busy bee activity inside the hive generates
Speaker 1: a lot of heat, so they leave the hive and
Speaker 1: cling to the outside. Then create even more airflow than
Speaker 1: regular fanning by huddling together and beating their wings. This
Speaker 1: activity is called bearding because the formation that the bees
Speaker 1: make on the outside of the hive is shaped sort
Speaker 1: of like a beard. It's a natural, normal behavior and
Speaker 1: should not be confused with swarming, which occurs when the
Speaker 1: bees all get together and decided to leave the hive
Speaker 1: for greener pastures. So if you see a bunch of
Speaker 1: bees in beard formation hanging outside their hive, have no fear.
Speaker 1: Think of them as amazing Apien generators. Society of worrying
Speaker 1: little porch fans buzzing up a breeze to try and
Speaker 1: beat the heat inside. Today's episode was written by Carrie
Speaker 1: Tato and produced by Tyler Claying. Brain Stuff is production
Speaker 1: of i Heeart Radios how Stuff Works. For more in
Speaker 1: this and lots of other buzzworthy topics, visit our home
Speaker 1: planet as to works dot com, and for more podcasts
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