Bees swarming, Cows speeding, Men diving

Q: What is happening when a huge number of bees hang from tree branches?  (Eric, Tempe, Arizona)

Honeybees swarming on a tree branch.  Courtesy of Marion Ellis, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

A:  Honeybees in the wild most often nest inside cavities within trees.  If the cavity becomes overpopulated, the bees swarm, gathering together before flying off to build another nest elsewhere. 

"A swarm may contain from 1,500 to 30,000 bees, including workers, drones, and a [new] queen," says apiculturist Marion Ellis of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

A close-up of a swarm. Courtesy of Scott Camazine.

Further Reading:

Honeybee swarms by Marion Ellis, University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Honeybee, Wikipedia

Honeybee, Terminix

The biology of the honeybee by Ross Koning, Eastern State Connecticut University

Q:  How fast can cows run?  (James, Scio, Ohio)

A:  About 17 mph (27 km/h) is the maximum speed for Kouprey cows according to an University of Chile study.  A Kouprey (Bos sauveli) is one of four living subgenera of true cattle; it looks like a Texas Longhorn. 

Cattle roundup at the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Station in southeastern Montana. Courtesy of Jack Dykinga, US Department of Agriculture.

Seventeen mph seems about right for ordinary cows, too, says Jeff Tyler, professor of food-animal medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Further Reading

Cow races into new Guinness category by Krista Latham, Michigan State University

Differential scaling of locomotor performance in small and large terrestrial mammals by José Iriarte-Díaz, University of Chile.

Q:  Has anyone ever traveled to the deepest part of the ocean?  (Joe, Tallahassee, Florida)

The bathyscaphe, Trieste, circa 1959. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A:  Yes.  On Jan. 23, 1960 U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh and Swiss oceanic engineer Jacques Piccard were the first to plummet to the deepest part of the ocean — the Mariana Trench, 6.8 miles (11 km) beneath the sea's surface.  They rode the U.S. Navy bathyscaphe Trieste down.

Further Reading:

Mariana Trench, Wikipedia

(Answered May 23, 2006)