I have posted a short video of honey bee wash boarding behavior on YouTube at: http://goo.gl/duFdi
One particular colony was remarkably active all summer (2012) in NE Ohio. Most colonies showed some of this behavior, but this colony was exceptional.
I have posted a short video of honey bee wash boarding behavior on YouTube at: http://goo.gl/duFdi
One particular colony was remarkably active all summer (2012) in NE Ohio. Most colonies showed some of this behavior, but this colony was exceptional.
Dear Dr. Tew,
I am a graduate student in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. I will be studying collective behaviors and swarm intelligence in honeybees for my dissertation. This video is stunning. I would love to chat with you about it sometime soon.
Jacob Peters
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Concord Field Station
Harvard University
I incorrectly deleted several messages many months ago. Yours was one. I apologize. If you still have an interest in washboarding behavior, I am happy to talk. It will be a short conversation for I know very little. Again, sorry for being so late responding.
jtew
I also noticed this beehavior for the first time this year. I watch my bees a lot & have not seen this before. since the last post.. has there been anything new? If they are Line dancing, what are they communicating with it? I also watched a bee fly in an”L’ formation for about 30 minutes amid the branches of a redwood, the following day, the same behavior again and then no bee.
Some beekeepers have noticed that washboarding occurs more frequently at the end of a nectar flow and others swear the bees will “clean up” any particles you place on the hive entrance. Other sources claim the behavior “polishes” the surface and thus eliminates rough spots where pathogenic organisms might congregate.