A Review on Thermoregulation Techniques in Honey Bees’ (Apis Mellifera) Beehive Microclimate and Its Similarities to the Heating and Cooling Management in Buildings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5334/fce.81Keywords:
Thermoregulation techniques, Beehives, Human buildings, Apis melliferaAbstract
Apis mellifera – Apis, which is Latin for ‘bee’, and mellifera, which is Latin for ‘honey-bearing’ – refers to Western or European honey bees. Research shows that regardless of the ambient temperature, the in-hive microclimate of a beehive at the central brood area must be kept at the average optimum temperature of 35 °C for the colony to survive. Therefore, to survive both cold winters and hot summers, Apis mellifera will employ several heating and cooling strategies to thermoregulate their hives at the optimum temperature. Just like beehives, our buildings are designed with an envelope that is frequently viewed as the barrier that protects the internal occupied space from the impact of the external environment. We also employ similar methodologies to thermoregulate our buildings to reduce the heating and cooling load for less energy consumption while at the same time providing thermal comfort to the occupants. This paper presents the thermoregulation techniques employed by honey bees and the similarities to our buildings. Many similarities can be seen between the honey bees’ hive and our buildings’ thermal management system. However, we can still learn from the thermoregulation management demonstrated by the honey bees.Published
2020-08-07
Issue
Section
Technical Articles
License
Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s)
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms (if a submission is rejected or withdrawn prior to publication, all rights return to the author(s)):- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Submitting to the journal implicitly confirms that all named authors and rights holders have agreed to the above terms of publication. It is the submitting author's responsibility to ensure all authors and relevant institutional bodies have given their agreement at the point of submission.
Note: some institutions require authors to seek written approval in relation to the terms of publication. Should this be required, authors can request a separate licence agreement document from the editorial team (e.g. authors who are Crown employees).