Bees became silent during the 2017 total eclipse

It turns out that the bees reacted to the total solar eclipse as at dusk. On normal days, when their schedule is not interrupted by the night, bees start flying more slowly at dusk. As the night approaches, the insects return to sleep in their colonies.

The results of the experiment were published Wednesday in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Candace Galen, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri and senior author, said she was expecting to detect a decline in activity over the I & # 39; s period. total eclipse of the sun. Previous literature, ranging from 16th century observations to modern experiments, has suggested that some animals respond sensibly to the sudden onset of darkness.

"But we did not expect the change to be so abrupt, that the bees continue to fly to the whole and then only to stop completely," Galen said in a statement. "It was like an 'extinct light' at the summer camp."

One of the first cases of animal reactions to total solar eclipses was reported by an Italian monk in 1239. "All the animals and birds were frightened and wild beasts could be captured easily. ", Wrote Restoro of Arezzo, who studied stars. Later, in 1593, Christopher Clavius, a German astronomer, reported that "the birds fell from the sky on the ground, terrorized by a horrible darkness." "Our stockings showed bites, because they took blood without ever letting go," while the hens waddled in their cages and the bees slipped into their hives.

In recent years, researchers have observed that in response to the sudden darkening of an eclipse, light-dependent marine creatures, such as zooplankton, rise to the surface of the ocean and that spiders weaving orbs dismantle their webs. During the eclipse of last year, the Nashville Zoo, which fell into the path of totality, indicated that its lorikeets, a kind of colorful parakeet, did not miss a single glance in the world. 'darkness. The insects of the lightning flashed on it. The flamingos left their posts in the water and gathered in a bag, wriggling until the darkness rises. American owls, on the other hand, open their eyes wide and stretch out, ready to face the day. They went to sleep again when the light came back.

These animals were not alone in their confusion through much of the story. We humans have already been confused and even terrified by the strange spectacle of total solar eclipses. We have interpreted them as messages from heaven, omens. It was understandable. a total solar eclipse is a truly confusing experience for all creatures. As Ross Andersen wrote in L & # 39; Atlantic Last year, "What's more traumatic than sun abandonment? It is the source of energy that feeds the photosynthetic food chains of the Earth, the fireball that anchors us and warms us while we are spinning in the cold cosmic void. The sun is the giver of life. "We can still forgive human observers for shouting in amazement at the sight of the sun gone. It's the same for the bees around them, for their silence.