THE EFFECT OF THERMOREGULATION ON THE AERODYNAMICS OF BUMBLEBEES

Insects are remarkable fliers because of their complex wing structures, superior maneuver capability, and their ability to fly in severe environments. Bumblebees inhabit harsh environments ranging from cold arctic to hot desert to urban areas. The survivability of bees during foraging strongly depends on environmental conditions. Bees are able to fly at low and high ambient temperatures. Fibrillar muscles in the thorax that drive the wings generate heat, which correlates with increasing ambient temperature. To maintain their flight performance, bees need a specific range of thoracic temperatures; thus, heat transfer between their body and ambient conditions regulates their thoracic temperature. The computational studies about the effect of temperature over the flight performance are limited. Hence, in this study, the role of temperature on the aerodynamic performance of bees in forward flight was investigated. A morphologically accurate bumblebee obtained from a micro-computed tomography scan of a Bombus pensylvanicus was used as the computational model. Three-dimensional incompressible Navierstokes equations were simulated to predict flow around the bee in different temperature environments using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results show lower pressure over the wing due to increasing ambient temperature, which leads to decreased lift and thrust production.