The free erotic moviesend of summer isn’t the only thing that can cause bees to go silent.
On August 21, 2017, while an estimated 215 million Americans stopped to admire the nation’s first total solar eclipse in more than 40 years, bees stopped too.
With the help of bee watchers in Oregon, Missouri, and Idaho, a team of researchers led by Candace Galen placed microphones with 16 different monitoring stations around flower patches to analyze the behavioral patterns of bees during the solar eclipse.
What they found was expected -- bumblebees completely stopped flying or working once the sun was fully blacked out by the moon.
What they didn’t expect, however, was for the shift in bee behavior to be so abrupt, according to the new study published by the team in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
Before and after totality, when the sun was partially blocked, the bees seemed completely unaffected by the dimming light or the slightly cooler temperature.
Galen said it seemed like everyone was asking her how animals would act during the eclipse, so it made sense to hitch bee research to eclipse enthusiasm.
Past research has found a wide variety of animals behaviors during total solar eclipses, from chimpanzees who gather to watch to orb-weaving spiders who tear down their webs. But bees haven't ever been a part of the conversation until now.
“Bees are adapted to navigate under a range of light conditions, from bright open skies to dim forest understory," Galen said via email.
SEE ALSO: What the hell is the 'super blue blood moon' anyway?"The same mechanisms that allow them to navigate under dim light in these situations could explain why they are capable of flight in partial phases of the eclipse."
It wasn’t until the sun was completely blocked, that the bees went silent.
"We had not expected that the change would be so abrupt, that bees would continue flying up until totality and only then stop, completely," Galen said in a statement. "It was like 'lights out' at summer camp! That surprised us."
There’s a reason that people rarely get stung by bees during the night, and it’s pretty simple: Bees can’t really see in total dark. For that reason, Galen said her and her team expected a similar behavior during the total solar eclipse, however it will take more research to know exactly why.
And while this information is groundbreaking in many ways, this is still only the first step in understanding bee behavior in this context.
“The eclipse gave us an opportunity to ask whether the novel environmental context--mid-day, open skies--would alter the bees' behavioral response to dim light and darkness," Galen said.
"As we found, complete darkness elicits the same behavior in bees, regardless of timing or context. And that's new information about bee cognition."
America will see another total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. That’s when researchers will try to figure out how and why the behavior change is so dramatic, as well is if the behavior varies from bee to bee.
“We should be able to figure out whether more bees are returning home as the eclipse progresses," Galen said.
"We might also place microphones inside the colonies where it’s always dark to [determine] whether buzzes made by bees after they enter the nest are similar to buzzes they make at night."
Previous:Loose Change
Best Amazon Echo deal: Save $35 at AmazonHow much should we overshare while dating?Best Soundcore by Anker Space A40 earbuds deal: Save $35 at AmazonI went to the 'Severance' popNYT Connections hints and answers for January 16: Tips to solve 'Connections' #585.I went to the 'Severance' popSubstack publishers can livestream nowBest robot vacuums from CES 2025: Most are cool, only some are practicalBest Amazon deal: Save 30% on the EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus portable power stationBest Gaming Router Deal: Save $329 on NETGEAR Nighthawk AXE11000Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers 2025 livestream: Watch NBA onlineBest Apple Watch band deal: Save up to 70% at WootBest coffee machine deal: Save $50 on Nespresso Vertuo Pop+CES 2025 highlights: 22 new gadgets you can buy alreadyOpenAI adds agentic AI tasks to ChatGPT. Here's what it can do for youBest travel deal: A $100 Southwest gift card is on sale at Best Buy for just $85TikTok might go for a total shutdown in the US on SundayWordle today: The answer and hints for January 14, 2025Sabalenka vs. Bouzas 2025 livestream: Watch Australian Open for freeOpenAI adds agentic AI tasks to ChatGPT. Here's what it can do for you West Ham vs. Chelsea 2024 livestream: Watch Premier League for free Wordle today: The answer and hints for September 26 'Colin From Accounts' Season 2 review: The best TV comedy of 2024 so far NYT mini crossword answers for September 22 Hurricane Helene track update: See the Florida landfall path Why do we obsessively watch our own Instagram Stories? NASA ventured into the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, a forbidding land Reims vs. PSG 2024 livestream: Watch Ligue 1 for free Social media's financial advice can hurt your wallet, new study finds 'Challenge Accepted' creator Michelle Khare on YouTube’s move to compete with premium TV Google Earth now lets you see how the world looked 80 years ago — here’s how Webb telescope is about to home in on these 2 exoplanets. Here's why. Cowboys vs. Giants 2024 livestream: How to watch NFL for free Demi Lovato, Gavin Newsom usher in protections for underage 'content creators' Ajax vs. Besiktas 2024 livestream: Watch Europa League for free 'A Different Man' review: Sebastian Stan leads a stunning, self Best Amazon deals of the day: Ultimate Ears Boom 4, Tile starter pack, and Philips smart lock NASA's Mars rovers had a gangbusters summer of rocks John Cena, Awkwafina, and more: Meta's AI can answer in celebrity voices Disney+ password
2.0207s , 10124.0078125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【free erotic movies】,Miracle Information Network