Data from: Induced flow cools hovering bumble bees

Understanding how flying insects manage heat exchange is critical for
predicting their survival in dynamic thermal environments. To fly, insects
propel air downwards to offset body weight, inducing airflow over their
bodies. Remarkably, the potential cooling effect of this self-generated
airflow is largely unstudied. We measured induced airflow and wingbeat
kinematics for hovering bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) across a range of
body sizes and then measured the cooling effect of flows of the same
magnitude in a vertical wind tunnel. We combined these data in heat
balance models to predict transient and equilibrium body temperatures of
hovering bumble bees with and without self-generated wind. Measured
self-induced airflow was substantial (up to 1 m s-1), and varied with body
size and wingbeat kinematics, contributing significantly to thermal
stability. Without this self-induced airflow, bees of all sizes rapidly
overheated across a range of environmental conditions, highlighting the
importance of this overlooked heat-loss mechanism in the heat budget of
flying insects. Our findings suggest that shifts in wingbeat kinematics
required for altered force production not only affect energetics and,
therefore, heat production but also alter the induced flow and associated
convective heat loss.