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Research conducted since the 16th century has shown how eclipses affected animals. In 1544, "the birds stopped singing" during a total solar eclipse. Fourteen years later, "the birds fell to the ground". In 1932, crickets rang in northern New England when an eclipse darkened parts of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The frogs also croaked. In 2017, when parts of the United States became black during the last total solar eclipse, the bees stopped buzzing and postponed any activity until the disappearance of the eclipse.
This part on bees was the conclusion of a study from the University of Missouri that examined the reaction of bees during the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. The results, published in the October 10, 2018 issue of the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, used more than 400 schoolchildren, scientists and ordinary citizens to report bee behavior during the eclipse.
The researchers organized each of these groups on the way to the solar eclipse, setting up monitoring stations to listen to insects. Scientists expected the bee's activity to drop as the lights go out. What they found was that the bees completely stopped flying and were silent during the whole, not in a solar eclipse when the moon completely blocks the sun and everything darkens.
Microphones hidden among flowers in specific geographical areas (Oregon, Idaho and Missouri) have generated a lot of enthusiasm. Records do not differentiate between bee species, but most of the bees studied are bumblebees (Bombus) and honey bees (Apis mellifera). In areas where the total was 90%, the microphones captured only one buzz every few minutes.
"We expected, according to some articles in the literature, that the activity of bees diminishes as the light decreases during the eclipse and reaches a minimum." Candace Galen, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri and senior research scientist, said in a statement issued by the Entomological Society of America. But we had not expected that the change would be so abrupt, that the bees would continue to fly up to the totality and only then, stop, completely. It was as if the lights were extinguishing at the summer camp! This surprised us. "
Interestingly, there have been only a few studies describing the behavior of insects during an eclipse, which is why no one knew exactly what bees would do. During the whole bees stopped all activity; However, researchers discovered that bees were active in the moments that led to all and after all. Their buzzing lasted longer, as did their flight time, suggesting that insects were flying slower and slower because of the limited lightness or that they were returning to their hives.
"The eclipse gave us the opportunity to ask ourselves if the new environmental context – open skies and mid-day – would change bees' behavioral response to dark or dim light." As we have seen, complete darkness causes the same behavior schedule or context.This is new information on bee cognition, "said Galen.
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