University of Leeds PhD student Derek Mitchell is calling for further debate on the ethical treatment of insects, saying his research appears to contradict the widely-accepted theory that the bees' reaction to cold temperatures is to form layers of insulation -- an idea that has led to them being housed in hives that are extremely poorly insulated compared to their natural habitat.

The study, which is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, looks at honeybee "clusters" -- where the insects huddle together, forming dense disks between the combs, to try to keep some of them above 18°C when the outside temperature drops. For almost 120 years, the outer layer of honeybees in the winter cluster -- known as the mantle -- has been said to insulate the cluster core -- the honeybees at the centre. However, his findings indicatethat far from acting as insulation, the mantle instead acts like a heat sink -- dissipating the heat away from the centre.

The researches demonstrated that long-held beliefs have encouraged enforced clustering, by beekeepers' dominant use of what he labels "inadequately insulated hives" and, in North America, refrigeration. This is often seen as a benign or even a necessary process, with beekeeping and academic research considering these conditions of extreme heat loss as natural and normal. The research is calling for changes in practice to be urgently considered, researched and promoted, as well as further debate on the ethical treatment of honeybees and insects.