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Bees are amazing little critters. (Gosh, they're cute.) But what if we colonize Mars and start terraforming it? At what point will bees (and other insects) be able to live/thrive in that environment?

Obviously, there need to reasonable conditions:

  • total atmospheric pressure
  • partial O2 pressure and general atmospheric composition
  • no toxins
  • flowers to pollinate and get nectar from
  • a wider ecosystem to thrive in

For now I'm just wondering: What atmospheric environment do bees need to live on Mars?

Digitally drawn cartoonish image of a smiling bee with a space helmet and transparent wings. The background is black with small white and yellow dots as well as some larger yellow dots. The yellow dots may either be stars or pollen.

Perhaps we should give them little space suits?

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    $\begingroup$ Yeah they're cute alright. I'm not an expert on this topic. However maybe this article with too many ads for its own good (dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2552098/…) might help a bit in understanding how change in atmospheric pressure can affect bees and also show's how awesome they are! $\endgroup$
    – Ark Lomas
    Commented Jun 30, 2020 at 9:11
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    $\begingroup$ Also, insects used to be much bigger in the past and scientists believe this is because of the higher concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere during prehistoric times (nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/8/…). Imagine what that would look like! $\endgroup$
    – Ark Lomas
    Commented Jun 30, 2020 at 9:13
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    $\begingroup$ They need a temperature over 0°C for starters. Insects thrive in mild temperatures, and Mars I fear is pretty cold (-65°C and lower). If we were to colonize Mars it would requiere to build indoor habitats to replicate Earth conditions, not only pressure but temperature, oxygen and humidity). $\endgroup$
    – MarioZ
    Commented Jun 30, 2020 at 13:38

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