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Homework Help: Science: Biology: Honey Bees
by Emily McPherson
Cooperation
Species of animal:
Honey bee - social insect, female
The honey bee is a social insect that can survive only as a member of a
community, known variously as a colony, hive or nest.
The community consists of three different types of bees: the queen, the
males, and the females. Each are associated with different functions in the
colony
Features of Behavior
The lives of the honeybees are so highly regimented, as each insect has its
own precise role, that they resemble a single organism, rather than a set of
individuals. Without each other, they cannot survive.
The worker bees secrete wax, build honey comb, gather nectar, pollen and
water, clean, make honey, and when necessary, defend the hive.
They are also responsible for maintaining the hive at 33.9*C, the optimum
temperature required for hatching the eggs and rearing the young. When the
hive becomes too hot they collectively ventilate it by fanning their wings,
and during the cool weather they cluster tightly about the nursery and
generate heat.
A worker bee called a scout dances a figure 8 pattern up the honeycomb to
show the location of the distant nectar. The more rapidly the bee dances,
the nearer the food is located. The imaginary line between the loops of the
8 indicates the position of the nectar in relation to the sun.
The females begin life in the community as cleaners for the queen, sweeping
out the cells from which they have just emerged.
For the first three days of adult life, a worker cleans the hive. It spends
the next several days feeding other developing bees. Then the worker begins
to produce wax and build honeycomb cells. After building honey combs, the
worker stands guard at the hive entrance and receives nectar collected by
the other bees.
On the 20th day of life, the worker is promoted to guard duty, almost
bouncers of the hive, and their jobs are to drive away any potential
intruders, and to clear away the dead bees. .Finally when a worker is about
three weeks old, it joins a team of searchers for the last six weeks of
life, flying to hunt for food. It continues to do this job for the rest of
its life, searching and collecting the nectar. During the busy summer
months a worker may only live for about six weeks. During the less active
months of Autumn and Winter, a worker may live for six months.
Community Life
The perfection and orderly development of a community of
bees provides . Different tasks are preformed by various age groups. The
youngest adults start their lives working usually as cell cleaners and
polishers. The tasks of more mature workers include comb building, feeding
hundreds of immature bees, caring for the queen, generating heat, guarding
the entrance to the hive, carrying out the dead, and finally bringing
nectar, pollen, and water.
A well perfected system of communication exists among the honeybees. After
the bee discovers a new source of food, she fills her honey sac with nectar
and returns to the hive, and performs a dance.
If the source of food is within 100m, she performs a circular dance,
continuing circling in the one direction. More bees in the hive join in,
imitating the movements. During this ceremony, the other workers scent the
fragrance of the flowers from which the nectar came. Then, knowing that the
food is not far from the hive, and what it smells like, the other bees leave
the hive and fly in circles until they find the sources.
If the new source of nectar or pollen is from several hundred meters to 3 km
away, the discoverer performs a more elaborate dance, all around the hive,
constantly wagging her abdomen. Every movement has significance.
The number of times the bee circles during a given interval informs the
other bees how far away to fly for the food. The direction of the figure
eight indicates its direction. If the straight run is upwards, it indicates
the source is directly towards the sun. If the straight run be downward, it
signifies that the others may reach the food by flying with their backs to
the sun. Bees under observation in a glass hive demonstrate their
instructions so clearly that it is possible for observers to understand
directions given by the dancers.
Survival Value
Social insects, like honeybees, share the work of running the community.
They are not interested in their own survival. With the honeybee, the
workers collect the food and tend the young while the queen stays at home
laying the eggs, the whole hive benefiting from the sharing of tasks.
Homework Help: Science: Biology
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