The language of bees: this is how bees communicate

Always the subject of question in biology, even the most ancient, the method of communication of bees still remains among the topics of research and observation that see the animal world as protagonist.

But how do bees communicate? At the base of this argument we find the studies conducted by Karl Von Frisch then enclosed in the famous book "The language of bees".

With a series of research carried out after World War II, the studies conducted by the famous scientist constitute an important heritage for biology.

Karl von Frisch demonstrated that in bees there is a transfer of information by means of conventional signs.

von Frisch's discoveries, awarded with the Nobel Prize in 1973, represent a fundamental step in the theoretical elaboration of biology and have helped to break down one of the last barriers that separated the human species from the rest of the animal world. The language of bees is the most important book by the Austrian scientist.

Specifically, we can say that bees have developed a well-organized communication system that occurs through various methodologies: dance, tastings and the emission of odorous substances.

The dance of the Bees

One of the communication methods of bees is a kind of " dance ".

We can define this type of communication as movements in very specific directions that are able to provide other bees with a series of "directions" if we can call them that.

Among the various tasks of the worker bee is to go in search of food, once it has returned to the hive, it needs to communicate to its companions the precise location of the source of nourishment.

Bees have the ability to understand and detect the position of the sun based on the shadow that its rays cast in the honeycombs.

To indicate the position in which the bees must move to reach the food source, the dance is performed in circular movements with a vertical inclination indicating exactly the angle between the direction of the nectar and that of the sun.

The circular dance is used by the explorers when the food source is within 25 meters of the hive, the bee performs a sleep in a circle, alternating a clockwise turn and one counterclockwise

The dance of eight is used by explorer bees when the nectar sources are more than 25 meters away. The bee moves describing an eight and making the abdomen sway. The other bees smell the nectar on her body and join the dance then fly to find the flowers with the same smell as the messenger bee. The speed of the dance also contains messages. The slow dance and the more marked movements of the abdomen indicate that the distance from food is greater. The dance also signals the position in relation to the sun.

In this surprisingly ingenious way, bees figure out which direction they need to go to for food and sustenance.

Vibrations and Humming

In addition to their dancing movements while flying, bees also use other methods of communicating. Among these is the emission of particular vibrations or hums that constitute an auditory communication.

Humming at specific frequencies, allow the bees to transmit clear messages that we humans could also use to understand the state of health of the hive.

Some movements and especially the different tones of the buzzing can guide the beekeeper in understanding when to perform his interventions.

In fact, we can distinguish different types of buzzes such as that produced by an orphan swarm, or the song of the virgin queen announcing the second swarm.

A buzz known to all beekeepers is the one that the bees in the swarms emit when they discovered the new home, or the hive that the beekeeper has made available to them.

There are few beekeepers who know the sound emitted by fertile queens as they prepare to swarm.

Pheromones

pheromones are another method of communication adopted by bees.

Pheromones are a type of olfactory communication. They are nothing more than hormones produced by bees in particular situations, such as warnings regarding the presence of a danger or for communications regarding mating and egg laying.

These particular hormones are imperceptible to the human sense of smell and constitute real chemical messages with various properties.

The Tastings

Another method used for communicating information is tasting.

Usually this method of communication is used to communicate the presence of a source of nourishment.

The bee that has discovered the nectar goes to its swarm and regurgitates a small amount of it for the other members of the colony to taste. By tasting the nectar, the other bees are able to collect the necessary information on the nectar just ingested and in that way they are able to identify the origin of the nectar and therefore fly in search of flowers.

Bees are therefore very complex and sophisticatedly organized animals, their method of managing their survival and communicating makes these fascinating creatures a source from which you never stop learning.

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