Honeybee Democracy

I enjoyed this on two levels. First, it's a great description of the activity of "doing science". it seems that sometimes in our society that science is viewed as a sacred body of True Facts facts rather than as a human activity by which we, little by little, discover more about the universe we inhabit. the author uses an easy, conversational style to describe his questions, what he did to investigate, and what he discovered as a result.
The book is also a fascinating exploration of how a swarm of honey bees find a new home. "Hives" get a bad rap in our society. It suggests a bunch of mindless slaves dominated by a cruel despot. Seeley demonstrates here that the hive is actually a democracy. The queen does not rule or control the hive, show more but merely lays eggs and is subject to the colony. The honey bee colony chooses its new home from several options discovered by scout bees, who return to the swarm, advertise their find, then let the swarm choose.
There is a lot of food for thought here regarding human communities and how they function (or fail to function). show less

A really enjoyable read - great science and fascinating insights. Parallels between swarm and individual cognition are drawn out at the end, together with lessons for human decision making based on how the honeybee swarm aggregates info and chooses the best new home site.

Really loved this book. Nicely written, lots of wonderful information about bees but also about how a scientist designs and conducts experiments. The last chapter (about applying honeybee behavior to human social behavior) was a little silly, but that's ok.

A good read for those that are into honeybee research. The study of how a swarm chooses a permanent home was detailed and well done. Research of this topic began around 1930. The latest development of outfitting bees with GPS devices is an awesome breakthrough and I will be looking forward to a book revealing the latest research. Seeley's contention that honeybees choose their new home by a process similar to a New England Town Meeting is a stretch. Approximately 100 scout bees make the decision on behalf of 4,000 hive members. That's a far cry from my idea of democracy. I would say that the bees operate more in the realm of a socialist/ communal society, where there is a complete sharing of food and each member functions totally for show more the survival of the group. show less

First things first. If you are a beekeeper looking for better yields or tips on bee husbandry then this is probably not the book for you. It is a treatise on how bees find new homes after they swarm, that is leave their current home. Usually two thirds of bees leave an old home when they swarm. The old hive is rarely completely abandoned. The bees that swarm leave without a destination in hand. They will hang on a branch, porch, or some other convenient site for a few days while the process of finding a permanent new place is decided on.

The decision making of the swarm is the crux of the book. It is fascinating process that takes from one to two to five days on average. If you come upon a swarm of bees in the open hanging from show more something, don't panic, they will move on rather quickly. As much as the book is about bees, it is just as much about experiments. The author has spent decades studying and experimenting with bees. I did blanch a bit from some of the early experiments that killed many many bees. Over the years the experiments built up knowledge that lead to even more sophisticated ones. The culmination of observations on the swarms led to intriguing insights into the hives' decision making on where to live and then how to guide the swarm there.

The book is richly illustrated with photographs and charts that convey the information clearly. It's not quite a textbook but it's more than the conventional non-fiction fare. If you have an interest in complexity, emergence, and communication networks this should be right up your alley. show less

Fascinating. How bees find a home; how many bees in a swarm devote themselves to scouting, advertising, and guiding; how bees signal, by scent, sight, and behavior. Honey bees are endlessly interesting to me.

Evidence is clearly presented through diagrams showing how the 'thinking' of swarms takes place. We have much to learn from bees, and this has inspired me to write the second novel in the Buffalo Future series. I admire the dedication and patience in researching Honeybee Democracy.