European honey bee
Apis mellifera
35.9132, -79.0558
Field Notes
Description:
During flight, the rather large flight muscles create heat, which must dissipate. The honey bee uses a form of evaporative cooling to release heat through its mouth. Under hot conditions, heat from the thorax is dissipated through the head; the bee regurgitates a droplet of hot internal fluid — a "honeycrop droplet" – which immediately cools the head temperature by 10 °C (18 °F).
Habitat:
Mason Farm Biological Reserve
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