The Food Bank: A Lesson in Sharing

Food sharing is an interesting feature among honeybee colonies and serves to do more than just merely prevent fellow hive-mates from starving in times when food is limited or unavailable.  It has been postulated that sharing food in small quantities throughout the hive's foragers occurs as a result of communication with the dancing bees. The dancing bees provide information as to the quality of food that is being brought into the hive and therefore indicating the kind of crop they should be seeking.  Not only is this true but sharing food gives off similar aromatic waste products from their metabolism.  Having similar waste products may allow further  recognition within the hive and therefore further helping the guard bees defend against robbers and social parasites.  Food sharing therefore helps the colony to feed itself, organize itself, and defend itself. All of these functions tie into the reproduction of the colony. The bees display a truly social behaviour as the bees function as a unit in the struggle for survival.  In effect working as a unit allows for the colony, not an individual, to succeed or fail.
 
 

Bee-home Again

Colony: Division of Labour

Defensive Mechanisms

Dances with Bees

Mating