Post on 08-May-2015
description
A S Y O U C O M M A N D M Y Q U E E N .
J E F F R E Y A N D K L E M E N T E
H O N E Y B E E S A N D M AT H ?
• Some questions are difficult to answer through observation
• We can model these systems and provide defined areas of focus for researchers
W H AT A B O U T T H E B E E S ?
• Honey Bees create hives of hexagonal cells that are filled with larvae, brood, and pollen.
• We don’t know how Honey Bees maintain their hive structures or why some hives fail.
• Models offer insight
W H AT D O W E K N O W ?
• Queen Bees deposit larvae (brood) into cells.
• Worker Bees collect pollen for food and nectar to make honey.
• Nurse Bees raise larvae with honey and pollen.
• Thus brood need to be close to honey cells
P O L L E N C E L L
H O N E Y C E L L
M A N Y FA C T O R S I N F L U E N C E R E S O U R C E D I S T R I B U T I O N W I T H I N A H I V E
• Temperature
• Pollen availability
• Size of hive
• Amount of resources consumed
• The number of eggs a queen lays an hour
T H E C O M P U T E R M O D E L
• 45 cells wide
• 75 cells tall
• 60 day period
• 12 hour day and night cycles
• Queen lays 42-84 eggs an hour
T H E C O M P U T E R M O D E L C O N T I N U E D
• Queen’s cell variation rate; cells per hour
• Preferential nectar consumption radius; cells
• Average honey collection; loads per day
T H E M O D E L C O N T I N U E D
• Ratio of pollen collection to honey collection
• Ratio of pollen consumption to pollen collection
• Ration of honey consumption to honey collection
• Temporal distribution of daily nectar and pollen collection
W H AT D O E S T H E M O D E L T E L L S C I E N T I S T S ?
• Sensitivity
• Queen visitation rate
• Average honey per day
• Ratio of pollen collection to honey collection
T U R N S O U T
• If you bias the queens movement towards the center of the hive, honey bees will maintain the patterning seen in nature.
• Bees do not need to know where everything is in the hive.
• Focusing on a few factors is key to understanding how Honey Bee’s organize their hives.