“…and today we’re talking about a species that is the cornerstone of civilization. But more on that later.”
It’s voting season here in the US. As humans, we get our ballots and our pens to participate in democracy, but honey bees do things a bit differently. When they want to vote on something that affects the whole hive, they look to the stars…namely Kevin Bacon, John Travolta, and Fred Astaire. In short, they dance. But whose dance will win the nomination? Well, it’s all in the gusto. And sometimes gusto is all you need to make your voice heard here in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Description of the Honey Bee
- Color: They are generally red/brown with black bands and orange-yellow rings on their abdomen. From a distance, they can appear blackish or rich dark brown.
- Body: Their bodies are covered in hair, with more hair on the thorax and less on the abdomen. The thorax is the middle section of the body where the wings and legs are attached.
- Wings: They have four clear wings attached to the thorax.
- Legs: Their legs are mostly dark brown or black and include a pollen basket on their hind legs.
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com. We don’t have a new Measure Up intro!
Barry B. Benson (35)
Worker Length
10 to 15 mm (0.4 to 0.6 inches)
Honey bee workers are the same length as…
- Half of the diameter of a can of tuna.
- 1/12th the height of a 40 ounce bottle of Good and Gather clover honey.
- The thickness of a USDA certified cut of prime rib
Queen size
18 to 20 mm (0.7 to 0.8 inches)
Honey bee queens are the same length as…
- 1/15 the Imperial State Crown
- 79 panko bread crumbs
- 1/125th Freddy Mercury
Fact: The Imperial State Crown is a state crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. It has existed in various forms since the 15th century. It is 315 mm (12.4 inches tall).
Fast Facts about the Honey Bee
The western honey bee is native to Europe, western Asia, and Africa. But they can now be found all over the world.
- Pollinators: Honey bees are crucial pollinators for flowers, fruits, and vegetables, helping plants grow by transferring pollen between the male and female parts.
- Hive Structure: A hive typically contains one queen, thousands of worker bees (all female), and several hundred drones (males).
- Honey Production: A single worker bee produces about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
- Communication: Honey bees perform a “waggle dance” to communicate the location of food sources to other bees.
- Lifespan: Worker bees live for about 5-6 weeks, while queens can live up to 5 years.
- Flight Speed: Honey bees can fly at speeds of around 15-20 miles per hour.
- Sense of Smell: Each bee has 170 odorant receptors, giving them a highly developed sense of smell.
- Colony Size: A single hive can house between 20,000 to 60,000 bees.
Major Fact: Dancing Democracy/Bees Louise, Pull Me Off of Bees Knees
- Waggle Dance: The waggle dance is performed by scout bees to communicate the location of resources or potential new nest sites to other members of the colony.
- Dance Movements: The dance consists of a figure-eight pattern with a straight waggle run in the middle, during which the bee vibrates its body and waggles its abdomen.
- Direction Information: The angle of the waggle run relative to the vertical indicates the direction of the resource or new nest site in relation to the sun.
- Distance Information: The duration of the waggle run communicates the distance to the resource or nest site.
- Intensity of Dance: The vigor and frequency of the dance indicate the quality and importance of the resource or nest site.
- Recruitment: Other bees observe the dance and may follow the scout to the location being advertised.
- Consensus Building: Multiple scouts may perform dances for different locations, leading to a form of debate within the hive.
- Comparing Options: Bees compare the different dances to assess the quality and feasibility of various options.
- Amplifying Support: If a location is particularly promising, more scouts will visit and subsequently perform dances for that location, amplifying its support.
- Quorum Sensing: The bees use quorum sensing to determine when enough scouts are in agreement about a particular location.
- Decision Making: Once a quorum is reached, the colony makes a collective decision to move to the new nest site.
- Swarm Preparation: Before relocating, the bees prepare for the journey by clustering and priming their bodies for flight.
- Navigation: During the move, the bees use the information communicated through the waggle dance to navigate to the new site.
- Flexibility: The waggle dance allows the colony to adapt to changing conditions by continuously evaluating and updating their options.
- Survival Strategy: This voting mechanism through dancing is crucial for the survival and success of the colony, ensuring they find the best possible resources and nest sites.
Ending: So collect some pollen, find a new home for your people, and democratically vote on a new home using a topographically accurate touchas dance like the honey bee here in LDT.