Wisdom of the Hive: The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies FROM THE PUBLISHER
This book is about the inner workings of one of nature's most complex animal societies: the honey bee colony. It describes and illustrates the results of more than fifteen years of elegant experimental studies conducted by the author. In his investigations, Thomas Seeley has sought the answer to the question of how a colony of bees is organized to gather its resources. The results of his research - including studies of the shaking signal, tremble dance, and waggle dance, and other, more subtle means by which information is exchanged among bees - offer the clearest, most detailed picture available of how a highly integrated animal society works. By showing how several thousand bees function together as an integrated whole to collect the nectar, pollen, and water that sustain the life of the hive, Seeley sheds light on one of the central puzzles of biology: how units at one level of organization can work together to form a higher-level entity.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Details the inner workings of the honey bee colony, drawing on 15 years of experimental studies conducted by the author. Draws on the literature of biology, sociology, and operations research to explain hive organization, and compares the honey bee colony to other functionally organized groups such as multicellular organisms, colonies of marine invertebrates, and human societies. Includes b&w drawings and a few b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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