Bumblebee communication

Some bee species have highly developed ways of communicating with each other about the location and quality of food resources ranging from physical to chemical displays.

[3] Other means of alerting passive bees to a potentially rewarding resource include releasing pheromone signals and increasing physical activity.

[3] Lab experiments by Anna Dornhaus and Lars Chittka in 2005 showed evidence of this up or down regulation by monitoring the activity level of the hive after the addition of 'nectar' to the honey pots.

Hive activity increased when high quality nectar was injected into the honey pots, provided the wells weren't already full.

When the honey pots were full, there was no significant change in activity regardless of whether the nectar imported was from a high or low quality source.

[5] Honeybees have very controlled patterns of movement, such as the waggle or tremble dance which serve to deliver specific coordinates of fruitful sources to potential foragers.

[5] Bumblebees produce a signalling pheromone from tergal glands located on their dorsal abdomen as discovered in experiments performed by A. Dornhaus, A. Brockmann and L. Chittka in 2003.

[8] As in other social Hymenoptera,[9] bumblebee queens have also been shown to release characteristic pheromones to signal their presence and stop the workers from reproducing.

Similar activity of queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbons has also been documented in Bombus impatiens,[11] as well as in several other species of ants and wasps.