For example ants that developed thermoregulation of their nest. Bees that generate heat through movement and the storing of energy in other forms such as in honey or wasps that just protect their queen long enough to start a fresh in spring. Maybe there is other more exotic and complex or simple examples out there?
The cavity-nesting honeybees, Apis mellifera and A. cerana, thermoregulate their nests within a narrow range (33-34 degreesC in A. cerana), allowing workers to fly in cooler temperatures than they could otherwise do and the species to persist further north than other honeybees. Most Apis species do not nest in cavities and can moderate extremes but not regulate so tightly.
Hello Igor;
1. Some species of roosting bats cluster together when roosting thus reducing their surface/mass ratio.
2. Wood ants in the genus Formica make thatch piles that become part of the nest. The internal temperature of the pile provides higher brood temperatures.
Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Hello Igor; Here is an example from my own observations. The small desert rodent Neotoma lepida (Desert Packrat) makes a large pile of sticks, bits of cactus, and other bits of vegetation. A large nest may be more than 2 m in diameter and as much as 1 m high. The individual makes a nest deep in this pile. The nest resembles that of a "typical" bird. It is dug into a platform of fine vegetation bits. The animal uses this platform as its toilet! Urine and feces are embedded in the platform and the mass ferments warming the nest by a few degrees. This is the theme in the winter when temperatures may regularly fall below freezing. During the summer the individual occupies another nest placed away from the toilet platform...it is cooler there.
Using heat in this way is not very common. I'm facinated by the evolution of this rodent to have adapted in such novel way. Thank you so much for your contribution, your answer is much appreciated 👍
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Linguistics
- Composition Studies
- Publication