Size-dependent Scaling of Stingless Bee Flight Metabolism Reveals an Energetic Benefit to Small Body Size.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the effect of body size on flight costs is critical for development of models of aerodynamics and animal energetics. Prior scaling studies that have shown that flight costs scale hypometrically have focused primarily on larger (> 100 mg) insects and birds, but most flying species are smaller. We studied the flight physiology of thirteen stingless bee species over a large range of body sizes (1-115 mg). Metabolic rate during hovering scaled hypermetrically (scaling slope = 2.11). Larger bees had warm thoraxes while small bees were nearly ecothermic; however, even controlling for body temperature variation, flight metabolic rate scaled hypermetrically across this clade. Despite having a lower mass-specific metabolic rate during flight, smaller bees could carry the same proporti

SUBMITTER: Duell ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9825317 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature