Solar Bee

Pollen & Power

Written by Endrise

I've seen these bees cook a whole bird alive just by hugging it.

And it was perfectly roasted too!

— Solar Bee Keeper

Solar Bees are a native species of insect to the Plane of Fire. Their existence proves to be essential to the survival of many groups in the realm, providing fuel for their cities and machinery.

General Information

Anatomy

Solar Bees share similarities with material plane honeybees. The differences lie in their colouration, with yellow sections having an orange tint to them.

Their abdomen is more related to that of fireflies, able to glow a bright yellow. They use this for both warding off predators and communication within their hives.

Structure-wise, Solar bees come in either workers or a queen:

Worker bees grow up to be around an inch long, having fuzzier thoraxes and rounder abdomens than a current queen. They make up almost the entire hive population.

Only one queen exists in an entire hive, being half an inch longer than workers. One can distinguish them from others via their prolonged abdomens and brighter colours.

Body Heat

One of their more known traits is their ability to regulate their body heat. While they feel warm to the touch, they can increase that temperature to the point of causing second-degree burns at a mere touch. Larger groups can together cause third-degree burns if needed.

Reproduction

All reproduction goes through the queen, who lays anywhere from a few hundred up to thousands of eggs a day. Of these hundreds of offspring, a few become new queens.

Doing so requires a queen to mate with male workers, finding the right partners based on the light they emit. Any mates it considers worthy gets to help bolster the population until their own death, with queens having multiple partners at the same time for reproduction.

Ecology & Habitat

As a native species of the Fire Plane, they prefer warmer climates to make their colonies up. Anything below a tropical heat leaves a bee dazed, if not making it slowly die.

With their need for sunlight, places with frequent sun are ideal. One may find natives hives at the peaks of larger mountains, just within the cloud layer. To protect themselves against Solar Storms, hives tunnel deep and entrances are miniscule, keeping out any intense heat.

Lifespan

30 days

Average Length

1 inch

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Yellow & Black with orange tints

Related Materials

• Sunspot Honey

The Honey Wars

The Solar Bee is a symbol of power for those who can keep them. Their creation of Sunspot Honey helps generate both food and fuel for whole civilisations, making some people reliant on them for their own survival.

Others are willing to fight over them as well, causing a multitude of conflicts known as the Honey Wars to happen across the Plane of Fire. Often to capture either the honey or hives of other cities to fuel their own machinery and food supplies.

Outsiders also tried to snatch some Solar Bees to fuel other worlds, but their habitat needs make it hard to keep any outside the Plane of Fire. Instead, most resort to fetching themselves their honey instead.

Hive Structure

Solar Bee hives are a great example of unified work amongst hundreds of workers. Exits and entrances hide behind molten rock “doors”, forming airtight seals to keep out the intense heat from the outside. Larger hives even form an airlock to keep in the correct temperature.

The main chamber itself is a large hollow area within the soft stone, using a mixture of wax and molten glass to form the honeycombs. Additional chambers and walls get created using this mixture, which get filled up with Sunspot Honey. Most hives have the queen roam around alongside her workers, with the eggs being placed within holes across the entire structure.

Communication

Solar Bees speak in dance and lights, using it to share information with other workers. Their glowing abdomens and body movements can tell fellow bees about anything from potential threats to noteworthy locations or even potential allies.

Defences

When something threatens a hive, workers surround and smother the enemy through sheer quantities. Using their collective temperature, they try to cook predators alive in their own skin, getting in spots vulnerable to burns and heat with their small size.

Food & Honey

Solar Bees are one of many species on the Fire Plane that feed off the sun. Their bodies absorb solar energy and converts it into an useable fuel. To store the excess energy, they digest decomposing meat of larger creatures, often doing so while feeding off sunlight.

Mixing the biomass with excess energy creates Sunspot Honey, which the bees regurgitate into their hives. This not only serves as a food reservoir for the whole colony, but the soft heat helps keep the hive warm regardless of location.

It sounds gross, but you can't complain about options when you live in a place like this.

— Fire Plane Native

Many cultures around the Plane of Fire use the honey as a fuel source or simple food resource. Most bee colonies are willing to share their excess supplies when provided a safe home, making it a mutual deal. Should they consider the relationship inefficient, they leave their hive entirely and follow their queen to a new location.

Man-made apiaries allow the bees to move in and out the spherical homes while giving easy access to their honey. Not only can they serve as a food provider, but their ability to break down organic matter makes them also a good waste disposal.