Bees are hardworking, and they keep buzzing from flower to flower for pollen and nectar. And sometimes I wonder! Do they even get a sigh of relief, and how do they breathe on such a busy day?
Bees have spiracles to take in the fresh air. These minute pores work as nostrils in bees. Spiracles join to a complex network of tracheae (tube-like structure) and air sacs. Air enters through spiracles in the insect’s body, reaches to different parts of the body through the trachea, and diffuses through air-sacs.
Bees have 10 different spiracles located on the sides of their body. There are six on their abdomen, one pair within the sting chamber and three pairs on the thorax. So you can say that the bee can breathe from her whole body.
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Breathing Mechanism in Bees
Humans, reptiles, birds, insects: they all need oxygen to live and they produce CO2 as a waste product when breathing out. In the higher organism, the circulatory system and respiratory system work together to provide oxygen to every single cell in the body. But that’s not in the case of these buzzing insects. These honey-producing insects also have specific structures for food and oxygen transport. But unlike higher-order organisms, they work separately.
Bees have an open respiratory and circulatory system. That means instead of having a network of veins and arteries for transportation of materials, they have body cavities. Hemolymph and oxygen reach the target organ directly through these cavities.
Respiratory organs in Bees:
1. Spiracles
Similar to nostrils in humans, bees have small pores throughout their bodies called spiracles. Air enters through spiracles in the body of the insect. These pores are present throughout the body. If you can visualize flute spiracles are quite like that. But they have two pores side by side. They are in pairs. There are three pairs of spiracles on the thorax and six pairs on the abdomen. There is a tenth pair of spiracles that is under the sting chamber. Spiracles join the trachea.
2. Trachea
The trachea is a tube structure found in the insect. You can compare these to the blood vessels in humans or any other mammal. They are the ingrowths of the integument and lined by chitin rings. These are spring-like structures that keep the trachea in shape. The chitin rings are rigid and also made of the integument. Just like capillaries in mammals, the trachea also bifurcates into smaller units called tracheoles. In insects, gaseous exchange takes place in tracheoles. Oxygen and carbon dioxide move through diffusion in the tracheoles. The oxygen inside the tracheoles moves to the tissues. The carbon dioxide built during respiration leaves the tissues and enters the same tracheoles.
3. Air sacs
In addition to spiracles and trachea, the insects also have a ballon-like structure called air sacs. They are present throughout the body of the bee. They are like lungs. Just like lungs, they also compress or expand according to the breathing cycle.
4. Process of breathing in Bees
The air circulation occurs with the help of a change in air pressure inside the air sacs. Abdominal muscles play a vital role in the breathing of the tiny insect. Muscle movements, contractions, and relaxations regulate the air pressure inside the air sacs. When muscles contract, they pressurize the air sacs, and carbon dioxide-rich air leaves the trachea. When muscles are relaxed, sacs expand and create a low-pressure area inside sacs. It makes a vacuum in the trachea, and oxygen-rich air from outside the body enters in body through spiracles. As the air enters the body, spiracles are closed immediately. It forces the air to flow into tracheoles. In this way, fresh oxygen-rich air reaches every cell of the body.
What is the most common way bees suffocate?
The most common reason for bee’s death is actually suffocation from pesticides. As mentioned before, bees have 10 spiracles located all around their body and it shouldn’t be possible for the little insect to have problems with breathing, however, those chemicals are coating the body of the insect while it is foraging for nectar and pollen and they close the breathing vents. The oxygen cannot enter the bee’s body anymore, the bee suffocates and dies.
Do bees and wasps breathe the same way?
Bees and wasps and all insects are very similar regarding their breathing. They all use their Spiracles to take the air and oxygen in and to breathe it out. There are some minimal body structure differences regarding the bees and wasps, but in general, you can consider them the same, regarding their breathing.
Can bees breathe underwater?
Absolutely not, if a bee is submerged under water, all its spiracles will need to close so water doesn’t enter the respiratory system and if the bee keeps those closed it won’t be able to breathe and it will most likely drown. However bees can last much longer underwater than humans.
Many people may think that submerging themselves underwater will save them from angry bees and yes, they cannot follow you underwater. However they are smart insects and they just wait on the water surface until you show up.
Bees Wrack when they breathe: Does that mean they are sick?
New beekeepers often get worried at the very strange behavior of bees and that is wracking. They confuse it with panting and seizure. But are your bees actually sick if they are wracking? To spare you from worry, this bee behavior is as normal as you blinking your eyes. The movement you are terming as muscle spasms or waves of convulsions is the bee’s breathing. As mentioned above that muscles control the air pressure in the air sacs. These muscles are attached to the hard integument of the bees and not the air sacs. Hence, with the movement of muscles, the whole abdomen of the bee moves as it breathes. This movement flows through the complete body of the bee. And like other insects, bees’ body is also segmented and covered with hard chitin plates. When the bee breathes and contracts or relaxes its` body, these plates slide over each other. Hence, it looks like the bee is having seizures.
Bees can control their oxygen intake by controlling muscle movement. So, whenever the bee needs more oxygen, it adjusts its` muscle movement accordingly. You can see this movement if you observe the bee closely. It does this all the time. However, the extent depends on the amount of oxygen it needs.
4 Signs that your hive needs a health check
1. Bad Smell
A hive is full of honey. So, it should always smell sweet. A healthy beehive radiates two fragrances, first the sweet smell of honey, second warm wax. If it is even slightly off that smell, you need to investigate. A rotten smell is a sign of danger to the hive.
2. Missing bees
Bees are small, they reproduce, and they have their life cycles. Hence, the population of a hive is never constant. But if it feels empty. Then, this may indicate the onset of colony collapse disorder.
3. Dead Bees
It may sound obvious. But most often, you won’t notice any dead bees in the hive. They are very clean more than us at least. Bees are super quick when it comes to removing the dead fellows from the hive.
4. Missing Queen
A hive without a queen will stay for some days only. But identifying a queen is not an easy task. You know they are quite skilled at hiding. The trick for spotting the queen bee is to check the brood cells. If they have fresh eggs, this means the queen was in the hive for the last 72 hours.
Things that bother the Bees:
Bees are crucial for the ecosystem. Many plants depend solely on bees for pollination. If the bees disappear, then the whole ecosystem will disbalance. Thus, it is necessary to keep the environment bee safe. But our agricultural practices and radioactive pollution bothers them the most. We often spray a lot of insecticides or other chemicals on our orchards. But we are unaware of the fact that these chemicals stick to the body of the insects. In this way, it covers the spiracles and suffocates bees. Apart from suffocating, bees are facing a constant threat of habitat loss.
Afterword:
Bees do not need lungs to breathe as humans do, they use spiracles breathe the air in. These are tiny pores on the body of the bees. The bee inhales through those spiracles and then distributes the oxygen through the tracheae system. One of the main reasons for the bees’ mass death is suffocation through pesticides. So here I urge to you, do not use those bee unfriendly chemicals that stick on to the bee’s body and make it gasp for air! Be reasonable and responsible and always look for bee friendly chemicals so that our friendly pollinators don’t go extinct!