Meeting Abstract

P2-171  Sunday, Jan. 5  The effect of social context, acclimation, and feeding status on critical thermal maximum of honey bees PERCIVAL, C*; PULLEY, K; TAPSAK, S; TSCHEULIN, T; PENTANIDOU, T; GONZALEZ, V; ABRAMSON, C; HRANITZ, J; BARTHELL, J; Pomona College; University of Texas at El Paso; Bloomsburg University; University of the Aegean; University of the Aegean; University of Kansas; Oklahoma State University; Bloomsburg University; University of Central Oklahoma crpa2017@mymail.pomona.edu

The temperature at which an organism can no longer escape death (CTmax) has been proposed as a measure of a species’ thermal tolerance. As climates shift it becomes important to understand how organisms will be affected. Insects’ status as indicators of environmental change makes them valuable tools for predicting the effects of climate change. Our research focused on the Greek honeybee (Apis mellifera cecropia) and how its ability to resist high temperatures changed in response to several variables: social context, acclimation, and feeding status. Our results demonstrate that our social context and acclimation protocols did not affect CTmax in honeybees. Feeding status had a significant effect on CTmax (H=488.5, p=<0.001), with unfed bees spasming faster and at lower temperatures (40°C). This suggests that feeding status is an important component of a honeybee’s ability to resist high temperatures. Grouping bees and allowing bees to cool partway through trials did not appear to affect CTmax.