The bees are essential animals for the balance of the ecosystem, however, there are various threats that put their survival at risk, such as the pollution or deforestation. Even so, thanks to the perfect organization that exists within the hive, these animals survive in different types of environments, thanks to their effective communication.
But, How do bees communicate? In this article on our site we will reveal some little-known curiosities, such as the types of messages that they can share with each other, what they mean, how they do them or what is the dance of the beesRead on to find out!
What do bees produce? - Bees and honey
If bees are known and recognized for anything, it is for their ability to produce valuable honey. However, not all bees produce it, but only those known as honeybees, species mostly within the genus Apis. But, How do bees make honey? They synthesize it through the pollen they get from flowers. This production of honey is carried out by worker bees, one of the types of bees that inhabit the same hives, as we explain later.
In order to produce honey, you need a large group of bees, incredibly well organized and in which each of the members has a differentiated functionOn the one hand, those in charge of starting the honey production process are those individuals known as carrier bees. This group of bees is responsible for sucking nectar from flowers, taking it to their hive in their stomach, which has the ability to store it without digesting it.
When the carriers arrive at the hive with the nectar, the work shift of the chewing bees begins. These bees have the function of literally chewing the nectar brought by their companions, so that the enzymes in their saliva turn it into honey. This process takes more than 30 minutes, creating an amalgamation of honey and water.
As the water content is not desirable, they deposit this mixture on the hive panels, where the water evaporates, remaining only the purest honey. To make this process last less, a group of bees, the evaporators, are in charge of ventilating the honey by beating their wings. Thus creating air currents that favor the water to evaporate more quickly.
Finally, the sealing bees are the ones that have the function of sealing the cells where the honey is with wax, to prevent the honey from being spilled and lost. These cells are where the honey stays until the bees use it for food. On the other hand, bees also produce wax, but this is not to be consumed, rather they use it as a construction material for the cells that make up the walls of their bees. hives.
Where and how do bees live?
Bees live in what we know as hives, spaces created by themselves. A hive has different zones or quadrants[1]:
- Central area or vital nucleus: where the young are located, either in their larval or pupal stage. For the care of the young there are worker nurse bees, in charge of safeguarding and caring for them. Here we also find the queen bee and the drones.
- Average area or activity zone: here we find the bulk of the worker bees, in addition, it is also the place where they are stored honey and pollen. In the back of this same area are the protective bees or defenders of the hive.
- Base of the hive: where the entrance and exit door of the bees is located, known in the beekeeping world as spout.
How are bees organized?
In a hive there is a very marked hierarchy, finding at the top of this scale the queen bee This is the one in charge of reproducing with the drone, which are always male and whose only function is to mate with the Queen bee. The queen is the only bee in the entire hive capable of carrying out the reproduction of bees, so a hive without a queen bee is doomed to disappear sooner or later.
Then there are the worker bees, which, as we have seen, fulfill very varied functions. Some are specialized in brood care, others are carrier bees, while there are also evaporator bees and other sealer bees.
In this way, it can be seen that, although at first it seems that the queen is the most important of all, each of the steps is necessaryfor a hive to work and succeed.
Bee communication, how do bees communicate with each other?
Bees are fascinating insects, because in addition to their organizational skills and their effectiveness in making a gear as complex and efficient as a hive work, they are capable of establishing various types of communication. But, How do bees communicate in the hive? The main communication tool of bees is based on the segregation of different types ofpheromones , each with a different function.
In this way, if they secrete a certain pheromone, it can indicate, for example, that there is an imminent danger that affects the hive. While others serve to mark the flowers that have already been libated (which means that nectar has already been obtained from it) to prevent the next bee from going to that same flower.
They also use pheromones to get nurse bees to be stimulated for brood care, as well as to point out sources of water, the entrance to the hive or leave signs when the swarm has to move, to prevent the bees from being lost if they are separated.
The queen herself makes use of her pheromones with the following functions: attract drones when it is time to reproduce, prevent them from the workers to develop their ovaries, as this would create competition, or maintain the cohesion of the swarm.
The dance of the bees
In addition to the use of pheromones, bees have a communication system known as the bee dance. This is based on a achievement of movements and displacements, carried out as signs, transmitting messages to the other bees through body expressions.
One of the examples of this dance is the movement made by bees when they approach the hive, they follow a trajectory in the shape of a eight horizontalThis movement is accompanied by the wobbling or wiggling of his belly from side to side, giving the impression that he is dancing.
And yes, they really are dancing, as demonstrated by scientist Karl von Frisch, who won the Nobel Prize in 1973 for deciphering the language of bees [2] He verified how the bees changed the angles of their wiggles and body movements depending on the message to transmit to their companions. Having a large repertoire of movements, sometimes only differentiated by subtle differences, practically imperceptible to the human eye.
In this video you can see the dance of the bees:
How do bees eat?
As we have mentioned before, bees produce honey since this is their food. They also produce pollen, equally nutritious and essential for them. Both honey and pollen have a long and demanding synthesis process, which requires the participation of many members of the hive, who sometimes have to take great risks to obtain the nectar.
When the honey and pollen are ready, they store it in the cells of the walls of their hive, where they seal it so that it remains in good condition until consumed. They do it and preserve it so well, that honey can remain stored for years and continue in the same conditions as when it was synthesized.
When they need access to food, they remove the sealing wax and the honey and pollen are there to feed them and ensure the survival of the swarm, as well as the continuity of the life cycle of honey bees. That is why when beekeepers collect honey, they do so by controlling the proportion they take, because if it is adequate, the reserves will be more than enough for the bees' self-consumption.
How do bees defend themselves?
Having honey as precious and coveted by other species, including us humans, the bees need to keep it safe. To do this they have various strategies, although without a doubt their best known weapon is the sting of their sting
The bees that defend the hive are the protective worker bees or defenders. They are the ones who come to the defense of the entire hive when a predator, such as honey-loving badgers, approaches their home.
In these bees, the stinger is serrated, which makes it penetrate the skin of its victim and does not fall off, prolonging the time of exposure to the poison they secrete. Although this poison is not fatal in most cases, it does cause pain and discomfort.
But this defense has a very high price for the workers, because the fact that their stinger is serrated means that their sting is deadly to themselvesThis is one of the differences between wasps and bees. This way, when the sting is stuck in the victim, when leaving the bee, it tears its belly, causing a painful death. That's how brave and loyal these bees are, because in order to defend their hive they don't hesitate to put their own lives at risk.
