Honey bees

Honey bees precisely control the temperature inside their hives to determine which job their young will perform in the colony when mature, new research has revealed.

The secret of honey bees' success has been discovered living deep inside their hives - a special type of bee which acts like a living radiator, warming the nest and controlling the colony's complex social structure.

The "heater bees" have been found to play a crucial, and previously unappreciated, role in the survival of honey bee colonies.

Using new technology that allows sceintists to see the temperature inside the bee hives, researchers have been able to see how heater bees use their own bodies to provide a unique form of central heating within a hive.

They have found that these specialised bees, whose body temperatures are considerably higher than other bees in the colony, not only keep the hive warm but also control the social make-up within a colony.

Bees, and other social insects such as ants, share jobs within a colony so each individual has specific role that benefits the colony as a whole.