Waggle-Dancing Bees Emit Body Odors New Evidence Of An Important Role For Scent In Bee Foraging Communication

摘要

Bees and beekeepers share many things including the incessant drive to find food and eat it, behavior referred to as "foraging." Human and bee foraging has been intertwined by agriculture into a tight mutualistic relationship, the success of which depends on deep knowledge of our partners' biology and behavior (much like certain human-human relationships!). The scientific method has been of great help here, and continues to reveal amazing details of honey bee foraging behavior. The following is a story of some recent discoveries we have made about how bees communicate with each other to coordinate colony foraging. It probably will not change the way you work your bees this afternoon, but any detail of bee behavior could someday become relevant for beekeeping practice. And I think it will appeal to the curious biologist that I know is part of every beekeeper.