Social mechanisms are crucial adaptations for organisms that cannot accomplish necessary tasks alone. European honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies rely on complex social mechanisms to maintain colony-wide homeostasis. One such mechanism is thermoregulatory fanning, where worker bees fan their wings which circulates air to cool the hive. There have been observed patterns of fanning arrangement which may increase airflow efficiency. The purpose of this study is to determine whether honeybees orient themselves based on a thermal gradient while performing fanning behaviors. We predict that bees will align themselves between hot and cold areas while fanning. We also predict that they would orient themselves by facing the heated area because this most accurately represents the conditions to the entrance of a hive. To test this, we created a custom enclosure in which different parts of the floor could be independently heated and cooled. The data has shown a significant relationship between bees and temperature, with bees increasingly preferring warmer quadrants up to a floor temperature of 40.5°C. After this point, they begin to migrate towards the cooler quadrants. This work has a broader significance of improving our understanding of how social mechanisms can contribute to the survival of an organism, as well as helping us understand the ways in which social behaviors arise.
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