onsdag, november 16, 2005

Naturen är ibland extra imponerande, eller vad tycker ni om det Japanska Honungsbiets (Apis cerana japonica) försvar mot den Asiatiska Jättebålgetingen (Vespa mandarinia):

When a hornet scout locates a Japanese honeybee hive and approaches the nest, the scout will emit specific pheromonal hunting signals. When the honeybees detect these pheromones, a hundred or so honeybees will gather near the entrance of the nest, apparently to draw the hornet further into the hive. As the hornet enters the nest, a large mob of about five hundred honeybees surround the hornet, completely covering it and preventing it from moving, and begin quickly vibrating their flight muscles. This has the effect of raising the temperature of the honeybee mass to 47 °C (117 °F). Though the honeybees can tolerate such a temperature, it is fatal to the intruder, which can handle a maximum temperature of about 45 °C (113 °F), and is effectively baked to death by the large mass of vibrating bees.
Och tycker ni att det är grymt mot getingarna så kan ni se på bilden hur det går för vanliga europeiska honungsbin som inte kan försvara sig.

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