How honeybees perceive communication dances, studied by means of a mechanical model

Abstract

A mechanical model of a dancing honeybee was used to investigate the role of various components of the wagging dance in the transfer of information to follower bees. The model simulates the dance, carries a scent, and has an acoustic near-field similar to that of live dancers. The movements of the model are controlled by a computer, and selected components of the dance can be manipulated independently of others. The number of bees approaching scented baits at various distances and directions from the hive was observed, both during simulated "normal" dances and dances in which different components provided potentially conflicting information about the location of the food. The results indicate that the wagging run is the" master component" of the dance. The figure-of-eight dance path does not seem to convey information. Both sound and wagging must be present in the dance, but no specific roles were found for these components. Both sound and wagging convey information about distance and direction, and they appear to be largely redundant.

Modelling collective foraging by means of individual behaviour rules in honey-bees

“…Friesen 1973) and positional information (e.g. Michelsen et al 1992), which she has acquired by following the waggle dance and has stored in her memory. The question is not whether honey-bees use either odour or positional information extracted from the waggle dance (Wenner and Wells 1990), but when and how they use these two kinds of information, as well as other possible kinds of information, for instance the presence of other bees near or at the source.…”

“…36±38). Information about both distance and direction is used by dance-following bees in their search for the advertised source (Michelsen et al 1992). The total duration of the dance is correlated with the profitability of the source, but this information is not used as such by the bees attending the dance.…”

“…This is modelled as a circular area with a radius of 25 cm. The distance from which a bee can perceive (hear) a dancing bee is set to 5 cm (Michelsen et al 1987(Michelsen et al , 1992. So on average, each bee can perceive 5 2 / 25 2 4% of the bees on the dance¯oor at any moment in time.…”

A molecular phylogeny of the stingless bee genus Melipona (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…All Apis use a form of referential communication known as the waggle dance, whereby returning foragers inform colony members about newly discovered resource sites (von Frisch, 1967;Seeley, 1995;Dyer, 2002). The waggle dance communicates distance and direction (von Frisch, 1967;Gould, 1976;Michelsen et al, 1992;Esch et al, 2001;Dyer, 2002;Sherman and Visscher, 2002). The communication mechanisms of Melipona are less studied, but experimental evidence indicates functional referential communication in some species (Esch, 1967;Aguilar and Briceño, 2002;Nieh, 2004), but not in others (Hrncir et al, 2006).…”

Avian psychology and communication

“…For example, the different alarm calls of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) reveal how they discriminate among different predators (Seyfarth et al 1980); the dance of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been successfully used to investigate how honeybees navigate (e.g. Michelsen et al 1992;Esch et al 2001); and verbal communication has been important in the investigations into the cognitive abilities of both birds and mammals (Ristau 1991;Pepperberg 2000). However, there is now a growing interest in the reverse question: how does animal cognition affect communication?…”