Results
Social condition significantly predicted both absolute mass lost and proportion of mass lost at 0% humidity (Table 1; Figure 1). Paired bees lost 1.892 ± 0.181 mg (4.22 ± 1.81%) of body mass, while singleton bees lost 2.452 ± 0.173 mg (5.17 ± 0.04%) of body mass. The proportion of active time also significantly predicted absolute and proportional mass loss, but initial body mass did not significantly predict either (Table 1). Likewise, the interaction between social condition and proportion of active time did not predict absolute or proportional mass loss. On average, M. tepidus females sampled in our study contained 26.0 ± 1.86 mg (62.2 ± 0.94%) body water.
Table 1. ANOVA tables showing the effects of evaluated predictor variables (social condition, activity time, initial mass, and the interaction between social condition and activity time) on two response variables (top: total mass lost, and bottom: the proportion of mass lost).