Page 175 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

EUROPEAN HONEY BEE 175

Initially, small groups of workers will leave the swarm on spermatheca, where male sperm is stored. She now has no
scouting expeditions and then return to report news of need to mate again in order to reproduce, and can begin
their finds.They attract interest in their preferred site by to lay eggs.
using a form of waggle dance, which is also how workers For the queen, egg-laying can be a year-long job,
communicate information about food to each other.The although it peaks in spring, when food is plentiful, and it
better the new site is, the more complex the dance is. may stop completely in winter.At the height of her egg
Once the worker has a quorum interested in her site, the laying, she may produce up to 2500 eggs a day.
workers will then head off to recruit more supporters. The eggs that are fertilized will become workers.Those
Once enough of the swarm are convinced of the merits of that are not will become drones. So the phrase ‘as busy as
the new site, they’ll establish a new nest. a bee’ is certainly accurate.These industrious insects never
Now it’s back to business as usual.The queen is installed seem to stop.Workers born at the height of the hive’s
in her new nest, and spends several days orienting herself. workload, may live for only around five weeks. Queens
Then she leaves the beehive to mate with the male drones can survive for 5–6 years, but such a hectic life quickly
from several different hives, in order to fill her wears them out.

It wasn’t until 1973 that honey bee communication was Many did not believe him, but he was the first scientist to
revealed to the world, thanks to the work of ethologist Karl suggest that honey bees communicate by dancing! Here, a
von Frisch (1886–1982). scout does a round dance to tell others where flowers are.

Round dances reveal the general location of food within 30m The waggle dance gives precise directions.The angle of the
(98.4ft) If food is farther away, bees have developed a way to dancer relates to the angle between the hive and Sun, and the
deliver more complex instructions. speed of the dance indicates the distance.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.