Supercooling points of apis mellifera ligustica when performing different age-related tasks

Abstract

In order to study the cold resistance of honey bees, the authors systematically investigated the supercooling points (SCPs) of Apis mellifera ligustica worker bees performing different age-related tasks. There were statistically significant differences in SCPs between worker bees performing different activities (P<0.05). The nectar-water collector had the highest SCP temperature (-3.16°C), highest water content (74.85%) and lowest crude fat content (6.13%). The soldier had the lowest SCP temperature (-6.40°C), relatively lower water content (70.33%) and higher crude fat content (7.28%). No significant difference was found in the SCPs of workers of different ages. Winter bees did not differ from summer bees in their SCPs. The relatively higher SCPs from different kinds of individual bees suggest that honey bees do not mainly rely on their low SCPs for their cold resistance.