Daily Devotional – August 3

Biology

Honeybees are cold-blooded, but by moving their flight muscles in a way reminiscent of our shivering, they can generate heat. This ability does more than keep the hive warm on a cold winter day; it protects the hive from predators. Sometimes the hive is threatened with chalkboard fungus. When this happened, researchers have noticed that bees raise the temperature of the hive to kill the fungus. Researchers also found that when the hive is attacked by a giant hornet, the bees swarm the hornet, surround it, and then begin to “shiver,” raising the hive’s temperature to 116oF. The honeybees are unable to sting through the hornet’s tough armor, so they kill it by heat! Amazingly, if they would increase the temperature just one more degree, to 117 degrees Fahrenheit, the bees themselves would die from the heat. How do the bees know this? How do they know what the temperature is in the hive? Remember, they are all working independently to generate this heat. God has given his creatures the ability to stay healthy and protect themselves.

They compassed me about like bees.…

~ Psalm 118:12a

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.