Compiled and Written by Lenny Giteck
Mystery Solved: Why Honeybees Are
Attracted to Saltwater Swimming Pools
A longstanding mystery — why honeybees tend to swarm above saltwater swimming pools — appears to have been solved by scientists in France.
An article on Web site livescience.com notes that “saltwater swimming pools don’t require chlorine or other chemicals, but online home-and-garden forums are full of complaints about these swimming holes’ dark side. Apparently, they attract honeybees en masse.”
French scientists reportedly discovered that the insects — which are vital for pollinating plants all over the world — “have taste receptors on their feet that are so sensitive to salt, they even dwarf the bees’ capacity to taste sweets.”
According to Martin Giurfa, director of the Research Center on Animal Cognition at the University of Toulouse, the bees may even be able to sense the presence of salt in pools while hovering above the water, without needing to alight.
The research, which took two years, involved daubing substances with different tastes on specimen bees’ legs and observing their reactions. If the insects liked the taste, they stuck out their tongues; if not, they didn’t stick out their tongues or even retracted them. The researchers “also used miniscule electrodes to measure the sensory cells’ reactions to different tastes.”
What attraction does salt have for bees? Giurfa explains: “[They] need salt for their own metabolic processes, and to carry back to their hives to help larvae develop. Thus, homeowners’ trendy saltwater pools attract bees like flies to honey.”
Ripples didn’t even know that bees have tongues — but now he does.
To learn more about honeybees’ salty secret, click here.
Ripples Classic: May 23, 2012
Tiny Aquatic Bugs ‘Sing’ Mating Call
By Rubbing Penis Against Abdomen
An article on the Web site bbc.co.uk (“Singing Penis Sets Noise Record for Water Insect” and “Tiny bugs make huge sounds with a surprising organ”) reports on a new study that proves a tiny male bug, commonly known as a water boatman (Micronecta scholtzi), rubs its penis against its abdomen to make rhythmic sounds aimed at attracting female sex partners. The mating display is called stridulation, the article says.
Amazingly, the research also found that the diminutive bug is “the loudest animal on Earth relative to its body size.” The Web site notes: “Scientists from France and Scotland recorded the aquatic animal ‘singing’ at up to 99.2 decibels, the equivalent of listening to a loud orchestra play while sitting in the front row.”
Since the entire bug is just two millimeters across, one can only wonder what size the male’s protuberance could possibly be, and how scientists are able to measure the decibel level when the creature bursts into “song.” The microphone probably would be thousands of times larger than the subject it is recording.
Ripples is skeptical as to what practical application this research might have for the human race. Hopefully, none.
And with that, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!
Compiled and Written by Lenny Giteck
Mystery Solved: Why Honeybees Are
Attracted to Saltwater Swimming Pools
A longstanding mystery — why honeybees tend to swarm above saltwater swimming pools — appears to have been solved by scientists in France.
An article on Web site livescience.com notes that “saltwater swimming pools don’t require chlorine or other chemicals, but online home-and-garden forums are full of complaints about these swimming holes’ dark side. Apparently, they attract honeybees en masse.
French scientists reportedly discovered that the insects — which are vital for pollinating plants all over the world — “have taste receptors on their feet that are so sensitive to salt, they even dwarf the bees’ capacity to taste sweets.
According to Martin Giurfa, director of the Research Center on Animal Cognition at the University of Toulouse, the bees may even be able to sense the presence of salt in pools while hovering above the water, without needing to alight.
The research, which took two years, involved daubing substances with different tastes on specimen bees’ legs and observing their reactions. If the insects liked the taste, they stuck out their tongues; if not, they didn’t stick out their tongues or even retracted them. The researchers “also used miniscule electrodes to measure the sensory cells’ reactions to different tastes.
What attraction does salt have for bees? Giurfa explains: “[They] need salt for their own metabolic processes, and to carry back to their hives tohelplarvae develop. Thus, homeowners’ trendy saltwater pools attract bees like flies to honey.
Ripples didn’t even know that bees have tongues — but now he does.
To learn more about honeybees’ salty secret, click here.
http://www.livescience.com/43103-bees-taste-with-feet.html
Ripples Classic: May 23, 2012
Tiny Aquatic Bugs ‘Sing’ Mating Call
By Rubbing Penis Against Abdomen
An article on the Web site bbc.co.uk (“Singing Penis Sets Noise Record for Water Insect” and “Tiny bugs make huge sounds with a surprising organ”) reports on a new study that proves a tiny male bug, commonly known as a water boatman (Micronecta scholtzi), rubs its penis against its abdomen to make rhythmic sounds aimed at attracting female sex partners. The mating display is called stridulation, the article says.
Amazingly, the research also found that the diminutive bug is “the loudest animal on Earth relative to its body size.” The Web site notes: “Scientists from France and Scotland recorded the aquatic animal ‘singing’ at up to 99.2 decibels, the equivalent of listening to a loud orchestra play while sitting in the front row.
Since the entire bug is just two millimeters across, one can only wonder what size the male’s protuberance could possibly be, and how scientists are able to measure the decibel level when the creature bursts into “song.” The microphone probably would be thousands of times larger than the subject it is recording.
Ripples is skeptical as to what practical application this research might have for the human race. Hopefully, none.
And with that, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!
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Mystery Solved: Why Honeybees Are