On cool mornings, some species of bumblebee are able to generate heat from their flight muscles. This heat warms their bodies so that they are able to fly at relatively cold temperatures and thus seek out flowers and mates earlier than most other insects. Both bumblebees and honeybees feed on nectar, which is a sugar-rich fluid produced by many flowers. Bumblebees are significantly larger than honeybees; thus, bumblebees have a ___________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bumblebees, being significantly larger than honeybees, have a smaller surface-to-volume ratio. This is because as objects increase in size, their volume grows faster than their surface area, leading to a decrease in the surface-to-volume ratio.

On Cool Mornings, Some Species of Bumblebee Are Able to Generate