Honeybee Democracy
- Thread starter TheAlchemist
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Here's the amazonlink
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...honeybee+democracy&sprefix=honeybee+democracy
Was quoted on NPR yesterday am. Sounded interesting.
Unfortunately, I cannot report as one who as read it. That said, it's on my reading list (similar to my mead list in that it's long and gets added to more quickly than things get checked off it) based on some good recommendations from multiple beekeepers and entomologists.
Seeley, the author, is to bees what EO Wilson is to ants; pretty much THE GUY when it comes to bee research (as I understand it, at least).
Seeley, the author, is to bees what EO Wilson is to ants; pretty much THE GUY when it comes to bee research (as I understand it, at least).
I have to admit I'm skeptical about calling the way bee hives or swarms make decisions "democracy." That implies that each bee has its own ideas of what should be done and they talk it out and come to a voted majority decision. Considering the relatively unsophisticated status of the honeybee brain and nervous system, I don't see how that could be true. Just because they make decisions collectively and don't have some despotic authority over them doesn't mean they're democratic in any human sense of that word.
I haven’t read the book though I do know that when looking for pollen and nectar the scout bees use dance and odors to convince workers to work their flowers. Depending on the dance and such they decide to work one batch of flower over another. Without looking too hard I hit this link that has some info one it.
http://insects.about.com/od/antsbeeswasps/p/honeybeecommun.htm
Looks like a cool book to read.
http://insects.about.com/od/antsbeeswasps/p/honeybeecommun.htm
Looks like a cool book to read.
