DO BEES LOVE DRIZZLE?

Warning, elevated risk of a shower, adjust flight operations as needed. This would be the announcement if a beehive were equipped with an intercom. That’s because bad weather means a day off for the nectar gatherers—the conditions are too dangerous: A raindrop could knock out the small 100 mg insects, sending them right to the ground. If a bee is surprised by a downpour while out in the open air, it takes shelter under leaves or flowers until it stops. But drizzle is another story: Drops as fine as dust can actually get caught on bees’ hairy bodies. When it’s foggy out, dozens of tiny pearls sometimes hang on the furry coat of the bee without impairing its ability to fly. What passes for drizzle and what is already a shower is up to the animal pilots to decide: There are water shunners, which are quicker to find an excuse—and then there are the kamikaze pilots, which aren’t deterred even by the threatening strike of a water bomb. Incidentally, the size of the raindrop makes a big difference to mosquitoes: While bees dread a torrential downpour, mosquitoes are more afraid of a fine sprinkling rain. The reason: When it comes to smaller droplets, the pressure wave that precedes the larger raindrops is lacking and the 2 mg mosquito gets cast to the side as if by a snow plow. But this does not mean that rain only has disadvantages: There are some bees that actually fly out specifically to collect water. This is used for climate control of the hive and as nourishment for the offspring. An average bee carries around 200 grams of water to the hive during the birthing season.