|
|
|
  
   |
|
 |
|
| 'Dancing
for their supper' a new video by Prof Francis Ratnieks |
 |
|
Video reviewed by Professor Roger A Morse Only humans have a language that surpasses that of the common honey bee. Honey bees, living in a city that may sometimes have a population of 50,000 individuals, have an obvious need to communicate with one another about a number of important issues. However, an especially critical item is the location of the plants that produce the pollen, the bees' source of protein and fat, and nectar that they make into honey. Dancing for their Supper, the video by Prof Francis Ratnieks, does an outstanding job of explaining how honey bee scouts tell other bees in their hive. The direction and distance to the food they have found. Dancing to indicate a food source is unique to the honey bee and such an elaborate system of communication is not found in any of the other social insects in the world. The Ratnieks video begins by explaining in clear terms the structure of a natural honey bee nest. It points out that with the careful use of smoke we can defend ourselves against these stinging insects that are otherwise strong defenders of their hives while we examine their nest A colony of honey bees has a single queen and she is the mother of all of the others in the hive. Her role is clearly explained. The video moves quickly to the question of the colony's energy budget. Ratnieks points out that there is a sequence of flowers during the year but it is during a relatively few days that honey bees harvest the food that is to last them through the winter and other periods of adversity. Observation hives, important tools used by modern bee biologists to study honey bee biology are pictured and their use is carefully explained. The roles of the bees that are food storers, versus the roles of foragers is shown with skill The video ends with 20 minutes of footage with examples of the dance language that are clear to understand. There is no question that this video conveys to the observer the information needed to understand the dance language of the honeybee. This exceptiona1 video is unique among honey bee films and may be used for your own education or by students who want to learn more about life on earth. November 4, 1998 Review comments by |
|
|
'Dancing for their Supper' is available
direct: Julia Lewis, Sheffield University Television,
|
|
 |
|
|
Professor
Francis Ratnieks |
|
|
|
