Honeybees
1. Honey bees have been shown to have a wide range of cognitive skills. They are sensitive to odors (including pheromones), tastes, and colors, including ultraviolet. They learn such things as color discriminations through classical and operant conditioning and retain this information for several days at least; they communicate the location and nature of sources of food; they adjust their foraging to the times at which food is available; they may even form cognitive maps of their surroundings.
Communication
Foragers communicate their floral findings in order to recruit other worker bees of the hive to forage in the same area. The factors that determine recruiting success are not completely known but probably include evaluations of the quality of nectar and/or pollen brought in.
There are two main hypotheses to explain how foragers recruit other workers — the "waggle dance" or "dance language" theory and the "odor plume" theory. The dance language theory is far more widely accepted, and has far more empirical support. The theories also differ in that the former allows for an important role of odor in recruitment (i.e., effective recruitment relies on dance plus odor), while the latter claims that the dance is essentially irrelevant (recruitment relies on odor alone).
How Honey Bees Communicate
Honey bees make use of five senses throughout their daily lives; however, honey bees have additional communication aids at their disposal. Two of the methods by which honey bees communicate are of particular interest. One is chemical, the other choreographic.
Honey bee pheromones
Pheromones are chemical scents that animals produce to trigger behavioral responses from the other members of the same species. Honey-bee pheromones provide the “glue” that holds the colony together. The three castes of bees produce various pheromones at various times to stimulate specific behaviors.
Here are just a few basic facts about the ways pheromones help bees communicate:
Certain
Communication
Foragers communicate their floral findings in order to recruit other worker bees of the hive to forage in the same area. The factors that determine recruiting success are not completely known but probably include evaluations of the quality of nectar and/or pollen brought in.
There are two main hypotheses to explain how foragers recruit other workers — the "waggle dance" or "dance language" theory and the "odor plume" theory. The dance language theory is far more widely accepted, and has far more empirical support. The theories also differ in that the former allows for an important role of odor in recruitment (i.e., effective recruitment relies on dance plus odor), while the latter claims that the dance is essentially irrelevant (recruitment relies on odor alone).
How Honey Bees Communicate
Honey bees make use of five senses throughout their daily lives; however, honey bees have additional communication aids at their disposal. Two of the methods by which honey bees communicate are of particular interest. One is chemical, the other choreographic.
Honey bee pheromones
Pheromones are chemical scents that animals produce to trigger behavioral responses from the other members of the same species. Honey-bee pheromones provide the “glue” that holds the colony together. The three castes of bees produce various pheromones at various times to stimulate specific behaviors.
Here are just a few basic facts about the ways pheromones help bees communicate:
Certain