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A study conducted during the total solar eclipse in 2017 in North America revealed that bees remained active during the phases of partial eclipse before and after the entire period, but they essentially stopped flying during the whole. Their flights also tended to last longer immediately before and after all, indicating that the bees may have slowed down or returned to their nest at dusk. The results of the study are published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Credit: Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org
While millions of Americans were taking a break from their daily routine on August 21, 2017 to witness a total solar eclipse, they might not have noticed a similar phenomenon occurring nearby: on the All the way, the bees stop in their daily routine, too.
In an unprecedented study of the influence of a solar eclipse on bee behavior, researchers at the University of Missouri organized a group of citizen scientists and elementary school classrooms in order to set up acoustic monitoring stations to listen to the buzzing or lack of bees bees. the eclipse has passed. The results, published on October 10 in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, were clear and consistent across the country: bees stopped flying during the period of total solar eclipse.
"We expected, according to some articles in the literature, that the activity of bees diminishes as the light diminishes during the eclipse and reaches a minimum at all," Candace says. Galen, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences at the university. of Missouri and principal investigator of the study. "But we did not think that the change would be so abrupt, that the bees would continue to fly to the totality and only then, they would stop completely." It was as if the lights were extinguishing at the summer camp! This surprised us. "
As anticipation mounted for the eclipse, "it seemed like everyone and his dog were asking me what the animals would do during a total eclipse," says Galen. However, few formal studies have examined the behavior of insects, especially during a solar eclipse, and none have examined bees. Meanwhile, Galen and his colleagues had recently field-tested a system to track bee pollination remotely by listening to the buzzing sound of their flights as they record.
"It seemed like the ideal solution," says Galen. "The tiny microphones and temperature sensors could be placed near the flowers for hours before the eclipse, leaving us free to put on our fancy glasses and enjoy the show."
Supported by a grant from the American Astronomical Society, the project mobilized more than 400 participants – scientists, members of the public, teachers and elementary students – to set up 16 monitoring stations on the path of totality. in Oregon, Idaho and Missouri. At each location, small USB microphones were hung from lanyards near pollinated bee flowers, away from pedestrians and vehicles. In some places, light and temperature data were also captured. The participants then sent the devices to the Galen Laboratory, where the recordings were compared to the eclipse periods of each site and analyzed to determine the number and duration of bee buzzes. The recordings do not differentiate bee species, but participant observations indicate that most bees followed are bumblebees (Bombus genus) or honey bees (Apis mellifera).
To investigate the influence of a total solar eclipse on bee behavior, researchers at the University of Missouri organized a team of citizen scientists and elementary school classrooms to set up training stations. acoustic monitoring to listen to the buzz of bees – or their absence – the solar eclipse of August 2017 is spent in North America. Here, what looks like a white fur ball is actually a microphone with a windshield, the size of a USB stick, attached to a small pole in a cloverleaf area. Credit: Candace Galen, PhD, University of Missouri
Data showed that bees remained active during the partial eclipse phases before and after all, but essentially stopped flying during the entire period. (A single buzz was recorded for all 16 monitoring locations.) However, shortly before and shortly after, bee flights tended to last longer than at the beginning of the phase. pre-total and late. . Galen and his colleagues interpret these longer flight times as an indicator of slower flight under reduced lighting or, possibly, returning bees to their nest.
Bees usually fly more slowly at dusk and return to their colonies at night. The same behavior caused by a solar eclipse provides evidence of how they respond to environmental signals when they occur unexpectedly.
"The eclipse gave us the opportunity to ask if the new environmental context – open skies and mid-day – would change bees' behavioral response to darkness or dim light, as we found , complete darkness causes the same behavior in bees, regardless of timing or context.And this is new information on bee cognition, "says Galen.
Another total solar eclipse in North America is not far off: April 8, 2024. Galen says his team is working to improve its audio analysis software to distinguish flights made by bees in search of food when they leave or return to their colonies. Thus prepared, she hopes to be able to answer the question of whether bees return home when the "lights go out" at any time in 2024.
It will probably not be difficult to find citizen citizens and student volunteers to help them again.
"The total solar eclipse was a treat for the crowd, and it was great fun to attach the bees to research at its tidal wave of enthusiasm," says Galen.
Explore further:
What's a total solar eclipse and why this one is so unusual
More information:
"Pollination of the dark side: acoustic monitoring reveals the effects of a total solar eclipse on the flight behavior and the schedule of activity of the bees in search of food" Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2018). DOI: 10.1093 / aesa / say035
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