The Dancing Bees: An Account of the Life and Senses of the Honey Bee

225 Pages·1954·7.188 MB·English

by  Karl von Frisch

THE
DANCING
BEES
KARL CON FRISCH
RECOMMENDED BY THE BOOK SOCIETY
THE DANCING BEES
THE DANCING BEES
AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND SENSES
OF THE HONEY BEE
BY
KARL VON FRISCH
Translated by
DORA ILSE
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Springer-Verlag Wien GmbH
A translation of Karl von Frisch's Aus dem Leben der Bienen.
Fifth, revised, edition published by Springer Verlag (Berlin
Glittingen-Heidelberg) in 1953.
English edition first published in 1954
CATALOGUE NO. 5689/U
ISBN 978-3-7091-4549-4 ISBN 978-3-7091-4697-2. (eBook)
DOl 10.1007/978-3-7091-4697-2.
SOFTCOVER REPRINT OF THE HARDCOVER 1ST EDITION 1954
To the English Reader
S
UPPOSE German and English bees were living together
in the same hive, and one of the Germans found a
lot of nectar: its English companions would easily under
stand what it had to say about the distance and direction of
the find. Human language is not so perfect. So I am indebted
to Dr. Dora lIse for interpreting my book for English readers.
For these readers I can wish nothing better than a know
ledge of bees, which will bring its own delights.
MUNICH, 8 November 1953 K. v. FRISCH
v
Preface
I
F we use excessively elaborate apparatus to examine simple
natural phenomena Nature herself may escape us. This is
what happened some forty-five years ago when a dis
tinguished scientist, studying the colour sense of animals in
his laboratory, arrived at the definite and apparently well
established conclusion that bees were colour-blind. It was
this occasion which first caused me to embark on a close study
of their way of life; for once one got to know, through work
in the field, something about the reaction of bees to the bril
liant colour of flowers, it was easier to believe that a scientist
had come to a false conclusion than that nature had made an
absurd mistake. Since that time I have been constantly drawn
back to the world of the bees and ever captivated anew. I have
to thank them for hours of the purest joy of discovery, parsi
moniously granted, I admit, between days and weeks of
despair and fruitless effort.
The desire to share with others the joy experienced was
the motive for writing this little book. In it the observations
of other scientists and earlier generations, the discoveries of
my fellow workers, and my own discoveries, stand linked
together in a brotherly way without any names being men
tioned. Facts alone are of interest to us, not the discoverer.
But are there not more than enough bee books? There is
the famous book by Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee, or
Bonsels' Maya: the Adventures of a Bee, both excellent pieces
of natural history observation and a joy to the knowledgeable;
but the unscientific reader will find it hard to tell where the
observation ends and the poetic fancy begins. Again, anyone
vii
viii THE DANCING BEES
who wants facts about the life of bees and not the picture of
them painted by the creative imagination can look at the text
books; but these are primarily written for the practised bee
keeper, and burdened with many kinds of detail of little inter
est to the amateur naturalist; and, though lacking the genius
of the poet, sometimes not devoid of imaginative invention.
There are also solid works of scientific research.
I have tried to give the reader the interesting part of the
subject, without the ballast of practical instruction that a
handbook must provide, without the comprehensiveness of a
learned book and the burden of figures, details and documenta
tion with which such a book must be equipped in order to
convince; but at the same time I have been careful not to
embroider imaginatively on the facts, which are poetic enough
in themselves.
Contents
TO THE ENGLISH READER v
vii
PREFACE
I. THE BEE COLONY I
2. THE BEE'S HOME 4
3· HOW BEES FEED 9
What honey is and how bees collect it-Pollen and
the bee's pollen basket-How flowers benefit from
being raided by bees.
4· THE BROOD 19
5· THE SWARM 27
6. THE "BATTLE OF THE DRONES" 31
7· DIVISION OF LABOUR IN THE COLONY 33
First period-Second period-Third period-The
bee's span of life-An attempt to change the colony's
way of life-The harmony of work.
8. SMELL AND TASTE 44-
The significance of scent-Training to scent-
Where to look for the bee's nose-Taste and smell.
9· THE BEE'S EYE AND HOW IT WORKS 63
Colour vision-The eye of the bee and the colour of
flowers-The structure of the eye-Visual acuity
and perception of form-The perception of polarized
light.
10. ORIENTATION: HOW THE BEE FINDS HER WAY ABOUT 85
Importance of colour and scent as guides for homing
bees-The sky compass-The process of learning in
its relation to the orientati.on flight.
IX
X THE DANCING BEES
II. THE LANGUAGE OF BEES 100
A round dance as means of communication-New
light on the biological meaning of flower scent-
How the flower scent is brought home-The balance
of supply and demand-The bee's scent-bottle-
The "wagging dance" gives the distance of the food
supply-also its direction-The dances of the poIIen-
collectors-A hinged beehive and an experiment on
the perception of polarized light-Dances in the
swarm cluster-Bees dancing in the service of agri-
culture.
12. THE BEE'S SENSE OF TIME 137
13· THE BEE'S MENTAL CAPACITY 14.8
14· ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF BEES 152
IS· OTHER INSECT COMMUNITIES 160
Ants-Wasps-Bumble-bees.
16. SOLITARY BEES AND HOW THE COLONY BEGAN 173
INDEX lSI
Text Illustrations
Fig. page
I. Possible patterns of comb 7
2. Flower with nectar exposed II
3. Flower with nectar secreted 12
4. The. bee's stomach 12
5. Hindleg of pollen collector 16
6. Queen, laying eggs 21
7. Arrangement of brood cells in comb 21
8. Egg and larva of bee 22
9. Reproductory organs of queen 25
10. Glandular changes in worker 38
II. Separating old and young in observation hive 41
12, 13. Boxes used for scent training experiments 47
14. Boxes used for scent training experiments 48
IS. The same: colour and scent 51
16. Antennae of male and female moths 53
17. Organs of smell and taste in man 58
18. Bee's sensitivity of taste compared with others 61
19. Colour vision of bee's and human eye compared 67
20. Humming-bird at plant 69
21. Diagram of human eye 73
22. Diagram of bee's eye 76
23. Sharpness of vision in insect's eye 78
24. Shapes distinguishable by bees 79
25. Types of shape distinguishable by bees 79
26. Diagrammatic explanation of polarized light 81
xi