notes:
SHMEL (Bombus pascuorum) Bumblebees - are social insects. They have a separation of females in the larger ploduschih females and small sterile workers perform all the basic work in the nest. However, the process of differentiation came from them is not too far away and in the absence of the uterus workers themselves can lay eggs. In early spring you can see large bumblebees flying low over the ground. From time to time they sit down on the ground and crawl under the leaves or in any burrows in the ground. It overwintered females looking for a place to establish a new family. Bumble bees nest is a wrong ball from the grass, moss, twigs, etc. The peculiarity of bees is that, unlike other social bees, all the larvae are nourished and develop together in the same cell. In other cells of the female makes the stocks of honey and Perga (honey pastry) in case of bad weather. All cells are initially incorrectly spherical shape, their production is wax mixed with the pollen. Young larvae grow and gradually pushing the cell you want the female (and later workers) are constantly repairing and correcting. Each larva, finished food, weaves a separate thin cocoon. All development of the young lasts 20-30 days, after which the nest appear smaller working. After this the female did not leave the nest, as do workers. After the first working population of the nest begins to grow rapidly. Increase and food supplies. For storage of used cell abandoned because bumblebees do not use a single cell, double-breeding juveniles. That is why the old nests are slovenly appearance: on the dilapidated old bees build new cells, and without any order.
Typically, a large bumblebee nests is 100-200, rarely up to 500 animals. However, in artificial nests heated managed to get the family, numbering up to 1000 individuals. Under normal conditions, the same female, postponing 200-400 eggs, which give workers begin to lay eggs from which develop females and males. In the autumn the young generation of sexual individuals leave the nest and mate. The males soon die, and the females crawl into secluded places and hibernate to spring to give birth to new families. Families live from spring to autumn, the autumn population nests, except for young females new generation dies. When the Europeans settled in South Australia and New Zealand, the climate is like a European, they were trying to grow for the cattle red clover. He gave the rich harvests, perfectly bloomed, but the seed was not. It turned out that neither Australia nor New Zealand are no bees, which in Europe and North America pollinate this plant. When it was brought here from Europe, two species of bumblebees, and they are acclimatized, clover began to give rich harvests of seeds. Now bees are considered to be the best pollinators of this valuable plant food.
Studies have shown that bees play a huge role in the pollination of various plants while promoting agriculture to the north. The fact that the bees - it is one of the most cold-resistant insects are well adapted to life in the harsh conditions of the north, where other pollinators are either unable to live, or fly a short time. Bumblebees reach northward to Greenland, Novaya Zemlya, Chukotka and Alaska. Such an unusual cold resistance of these insects is associated with the peculiarities of thermoregulation of the body. It is considered that the insects - a cold-blooded animals, body temperature, which is different from the ambient temperature. But when they began to measure the body temperature of insects on Elbrus and Hibinah, it was found that the temperature of bumblebees on average equal to 40 ° C and may exceed the ambient temperature at 20 - 30 °. Such warming is caused by the work of the pectoral muscles. It is an insect to stop moving, as it begins to cool. However, if it begins to "buzz", ie, rapidly reduce the breast muscles, without moving its wings, then the temperature drop is terminated or it begins to rise slowly. Thanks to this feature bumblebees maintain the nest temperature of about 30-35 ° C. A long time ago it was observed that in the bumblebee nests before dawn appears "trumpet", which was thought to raise the hum of tribesmen to work. But it turned out that he was simply shaking with cold. Indeed, in pre-dawn hours the temperature at the soil surface greatly decreases (humming just watched in 3-4 hours in the morning, and everyone who slept in the forest, knows that this is the coldest hours). Slot cooling, and in order to warm it, bees have to work hard pectoral muscles. On hot days you can see the bee at the entrance to the nest, which flutters its wings. It deals with ventilation slots. Ability to maintain high body temperature allowed bumblebees to penetrate the far north. But it does not allow them to live in the tropics. Approximately 300 species of bees live in Northern Eurasia, North America and in the mountains. And only two species found in tropical areas of Brazil.
Забавная ситуация! Интересно, а он об этом знает? 
