252 



COLLEGE ZOOLOGY 



females (queens) hatch from some of the 

 eggs. These mate and the sperm receptacles 

 of the queens are filled with sperms. The 

 workers and drones then die, and the race is 

 maintained during the winter by the queens 

 alone. Honey bees exhibit an even more 

 complex social organization. 



"Language" of the honey bee 



Our knowledge of how bees communicate 

 is a fascinating discovery, and one that has 

 astonished everyone. Observers of honey 

 bees have always realized that they had 

 some system of communicating with each 

 other. However, it remained for the brilliant 

 Austrian zoologist, von Frisch, to show 

 clearly that their main method of broadcast- 

 ing a source of nectar or pollen is not verbal, 

 but depends on rhythmic movements and 

 odors. 



A bee informs other bees in her hive of a 

 rich source of nectar found near it by 

 means of a round dance (Fig. 151). This 

 dance gives no indication of direction, but 

 the bees know the food is to be found close 



to the hive. The specific odor of the plant 

 visited, which is on the body of the inform- 

 ing bee, tells her companions the kind of 

 flower for which to search. 



If food is farther away than about 165 to 

 330 feet, the round dance is replaced by the 

 tail-wagging dance (Fig. 151). This dance 

 not only informs hive mates of a good source 

 of food and its characteristic odor, but also 

 the distance and direction in which it will be 

 found. As the distance between feeding 

 place and hive increases, the number of 

 straight runs within the tail-wagging dance 

 decreases. The direction of the straight run 

 on the honeycomb indicates the direction of 

 the nectar source in relation to the sun. 



The dances are closely watched by other 

 bees in the hive, who then go out to find 

 the source of food. 



Remarkable as the dance "language" of 

 the bees is, other studies in progress on bee 

 behavior may prove even more interesting. 

 Many other social insects besides the honey 

 bees undoubtedly have a means of com- 

 munication, but its exact nature awaits dis- 

 covery through further studies. 



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Round dance 



Tail-wagging dance 



Figure 151. The behavior of the bee during the round and tail- wagging dance. When the 

 round dance is performed, the bee turns in a circle, once to the left, then once to the right, 

 repeating the dance in one place for about one-half minute. During the tail-wagging dance, the 

 bee runs a short distance straight ahead wagging the abdomen, then makes a complete 360- 

 degree turn to the left, runs ahead once more and turns right; this is repeated over and over. 

 (After von Frisch.) 



