Brood temperature, task division and colony survival in honeybees: A model

Matthias A. Becher, Hanno Hildenbrandt, Charlotte K. Hemelrijk and Robin F.A. Moritz

Ecological Modelling, 2010, vol. 221, issue 5, 769-776

Abstract: One of the mechanisms by which honeybees regulate division of labour among their colony members is age polyethism. Here the younger bees perform in-hive tasks such as heating and the older ones carry out tasks outside the hive such as foraging. Recently it has been shown that the higher developmental temperatures of the brood, which occur in the centre of the brood nest, reduce the age at which individuals start to forage once they are adult. It is unknown whether this effect has an impact on the survival of the colony. The aim of this paper is to study the consequences of the temperature gradient on the colony survival in a model on the basis of empirical data.

Keywords: Honeybees; Thermoregulation; Division of labour; Temporal polyethism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:221:y:2010:i:5:p:769-776

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.11.016

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