Honeybees control the gas permeability of brood and honey cappings

Autor: Jiří Kubásek, Karolína Svobodová, František Půta, Alena Bruce Krejčí
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: iScience, Vol 25, Iss 11, Pp 105445- (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2589-0042
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105445
Popis: Summary: Some bee species use wax to build their nests. They store honey and raise their brood in cells made entirely from wax. How can the bee brood breathe and develop properly when sealed in wax cells? We compared the chemical composition and structural properties of the honey cappings and worker brood cappings of the honeybee Apis mellifera carnica, measured the worker brood respiration, and calculated the CO2 gradients across the two types of cappings. We identified microscopic pores present in the brood cappings that allow efficient gas exchange of the developing brood. In contrary, honey cappings are nearly gas impermeable to protect honey from fermenting. Similar principles apply in bumble bees. Our data suggest the control of gas exchange of cappings as a selective pressure in the evolution of wax-building bees that drives their adaptation for using wax in two highly contrasting biological contexts.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals