The Effect of Thorax Temperature on Force Production during Tethered Flight in Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Drones, Workers, and Queens

Honeybee drones (Apis mellifera) returning to the hive exhibited thorax temperatures (Tth) from 2.4° to 2.7°C higher than those of workers. Force production during tethered flight described an inverted U shape as a function of Tth. Maximal force produced for drones was 3.95 ± 0.23 mN, for workers, 1.73 ± 0.13 mN, and for queens, 2.15 ± 0.25 mN. In drones the ascending portion of the forceproduction curve was steeper and was right shifted relative to that of workers, so that although drones have higher Tth than workers, dronesproduce similar percentages of maximum force over this portion of the curve.