Dancing Bees.........and more.

 

     It is probably true to say that most biologists and naturalists, and indeed all entomologists, are familiar with the legendary Nobel laureate, Karl von Frisch, and his discovery of the dance language of honeybees, generally referred to in popular parlance as the "waggle dance", (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/frisch/facts/), a technique by which a bee communicates to others in the hive the location of a food source. For so many years this discovery has been the very essence of orthodoxy, passed on by professors and teachers, taught in institutions wherever entomology is offered. It goes to the very nature of science, however, that orthodoxy must be constantly challenged with a view to cementing its acceptance, or revealing cracks in the armour of certainty, or offering new facts to contradict, modify or enhance established dogma. 

     It must be intimidating for a researcher to mount a challenge to the work of a Nobel laureate, ("...after all von Frisch's central idea has been regarded as one of the premier scientific hypotheses of the 20th century") and I commend Professor Jürgen Tautz for his research that adds to the original innovative studies of von Frisch. Tautz approaches this entire scientific exploration with reverence and respect for what has gone before, with a singular devotion to adding new information to an already 'miraculous' aspect of insect intelligence. 

     There is indeed a waggle dance. Yet there is more! Various auxiliary hypotheses have been formulated, none supported by conclusive evidence, however. Until Tautz, that is.

     I first encountered the work of Jürgen Tautz several years ago and was struck by the originality of his approach and the convincing results of his study.

     More recently I came across a feature in the journal Elsevier where Tautz presented a synopsis of his theory (https://www.elsevier.com/connect/the-language-of-honeybees-a-revision) and was drawn anew to this fascinating topic of bee intelligence. More than that, however, I was once again struck by the acceptance and understanding of Tautz's conclusion, its universality and its widespread embrace.

      Essentially, the bee dance is the foundation of a three-phase sequence, founded in von Frisch’s work; in fact it is in many respects an homage to the great man.  The first phase may rightly be called the "von Frisch phase."

      Permit me to quote directly from Dr. Tautz.

Phase 1: Sent - The recruit flies out of the hive in the approximate direction and distance indicated by the dance: headed toward the general search area. 

Phase 2: Search - The bee reaches the search area, where the exact location, shape, and extent of the search zone are influenced by external factors (such as weather) and internal factors (such as motivation).

Phase 3: Attraction - If the recruit encounters floral scent or signals from the dancer in the field, it can orient toward and arrive at the target.

     Clearly the dance is only one of the ingredients promoting success;  a foundational step but not the only one, and communication after the dance is the key to success.

     It has been a maxim throughout the long history of scientific research that nature often acts as a perfect model for human innovation. In the words of Dr. Tautz, "It is fascinating that this three-phase strategy for reaching distant goals appears in other contexts, such as long distance migration in birds, or space missions like the recent DART project targeting the 16-metre-diameter asteroid eleven million kilometres away."

      We are fortunate to live in age of intensive research, aided by computer algorithms and sophisticated (and ever-improving technology). In addition to Jürgen Tautz we may revel in the work of Lars Chittka, Thomas D. Seeley, Laurence Packer and others. I am sure that Karl von Frisch would be pleased, and perhaps even a little envious at not being here to enjoy it!