Japanese honey bee thermal defence. Cartoon illustration showing the defensive strategy of the Japanese honey bee (Apis cerana japonica) against wasps
Japanese honey bee thermal defence. Cartoon illustration showing the defensive strategy of the Japanese honey bee (Apis cerana japonica) against wasps and hornets. When a large wasp or hornet enters the hive of these bees, worker bees form a ball that surrounds and incapacitates the hornet. The worker bees in the defensive ball then flap their wings and raise their body temperature. This generates heat up to around 46 degrees Celsius and increases carbon dioxide levels, extreme conditions that the bees can survive but which kills the hornet. This saves the hive from destruction.
Size: 3901px × 4972px
Photo credit: © JOSE ANTONIO PENAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, animal, apis, artwork, asia, asian, attacking, ball, bee, bees, behaviour, biological, biology, cartoon, cerana, comedy, dead, death, defence, defending, defense, entomological, entomology, evolution, evolved, fauna, funny, heat, honey, honeybee, hornet, humor, humorous, humour, illustration, insect, invader, invading, japan, japanese, japonica, kill, killing, mandarinia, mechanism, nature, predator, predatory, prey, raised, temperature, thermal, vespa, wasp, wildlife, worker, zoological, zoology
