Bees Have Their Ways to Cope With Warming Earth

Flying bees use fewer but harder wingbeats to keep their body temperature below dangerous levels, study reveals

- Isaac Barnes works with his honeybee hives in Williamsport, Ohio. AP

Sweat covers Isaac Barnes's face under his beekeeper's veil as he hauls boxes of honeycomb from his hives to his truck. It's a workout in what feels like a sauna as the late-morning June temperatures rise.

Though Barnes was hot, his bees were even hotter. Their body temperatures can be up to 27 degrees Fahrenheit (about 15 Celsius) higher than the air around them.

As global temperatures rise under climate change, scientists are trying to better understand the effects on managed and wild bees as they pollinate crops, gather nectar, make honey and reproduce.