Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: All solitary and primitively eusocial bees of the temperate zones survive winter in a dormant diapausing state. Weight loss of Osmia and Megachile bees has been solely attributed to metabolism of stored triglycerides, as evidenced by loss of fat body. I hypothesized that uptake or loss of water vapor may represent another contributor to wintering weight change. Using a range of atmospheric humidities (0–88%), it is shown that wintering cocooned O. californica (adults) and M. rotundata (prepupae) gained weight in humid atmospheres and lost weight in drier air, the inflection point being between 35 and 47% humidity. Most of this weight change occurred in early winter. No humidity treatment enhanced mortality. Winter storage humidity is an available management variable for these bees when kept for commercial pollination.
Source: Insects
Author: James H. Cane
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W4414094386