Decisions, Decisions: House-Hunting Honey Bees Work Like Complex Brains

[HysteryDiagnosis]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208141942.htm

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2011) — House-hunting is full of decisions, for us and honey bees. One early decision we both face is where to live. P. Kirk Visscher at the University of California, Riverside, often in collaboration with Thomas Seeley at Cornell University, NY, has long been studying how honey bees make these decisions.


A swarm of bees clusters on bee expert Kirk Visscher's face, attracted to the queen in a cage beneath his chin. (Credit: Visscher lab, UC Riverside)

Usually, the swarm's scouts find more than one site, in which case the swarm faces a decision that must be made quickly since the swarm is exposed and the season for honey collection is passing. The decision, however, must also be good decision, the future welfare of the colony depending on a good home site.

Visscher, Seeley and colleagues report Dec. 8 in Science Express that they have found another, overlooked, signal that plays a role in this process -- a signal that is similar to those that occur between neurons in the brains of monkeys making decisions. Called the "stop signal," it is a very short buzz delivered by the sender scout while butting her head against the dancer. Its effect is to shorten and ultimately end the dance.

[applegrove]

1. Jackpine Radical said that the internet was acting like a brain too. I think he is right.