Putting the "HERO" in PHEROMONES and "WARM" in "SWARM"

Honey bees came over, and bears were like, this is really awesome.
--- Jesalyn


Yesterday Joey gave us a mini-lecture on bee pheromones that clarified one of the questions that came up during my queen bee presentation.  I couldn't explain how drones knew when the virgin queen bee was on her inaugural mating flight.  The answer?


PHEROMONES.


So Joey/Pheromone Hero explained that many of the seemingly random or instinctive behaviors of bees are actually carried out using an odor communication system.  While I presumed they just magically knew what to do and when, bees are actually chatting all the time, in a language we've come to learn much about (even to the point where scientists have created artificial pheromones).  They have pheromones in all varieties and for uses like alarming other bees, deterring puberty, and other insane/useful purposes.  


I could see how it would be easy to exploit human knowledge of pheromones, as we saw in Danny's presentation on swarms.  How they get humans to have "bee beards" is using a necklace with a compartment for the queen bee.  Once the queen is captured in said necklace, you can place it around your neck and the bees will swarm around it, attracted to their fearless leader.  It's pretty awesome, but I can't imagine that Macy's is dying to carry queen bee necklaces or bee beards any time soon, though.  



Here's a video that demonstrates (with kooky Canadian narration) how the bee beard is done.


Some remarkable things I learned about swarming from Danny is that a scout bee will check out potential hives then come back and try to persuade the colony to move there with much movement.  Depending on how excitedly he beats his wings and moves around, the colony decides whether to follow him.  It's pretty funny to imagine the human equivalent of this, as board rooms or other venues where "pitches" are made would be hilarious with a dancing businessperson.  Lots of them would likely be unsuccessful.


THEN at one point in his presentation we watched The Most Dramatic YouTube Video Ever.  Okay, so it's actually just a hand and some bees, but the person in the video a) recorded the incredibly loud sound of a swarm and b) played with the bees like they were mounds of Play-Doh.  I KID YOU NOT.  You have to see it to believe it:






Wild, eh?  My favorite part is the camera-hogging bee who steals the spotlight.


Another highlight of the mini-lectures was talking about a man who ran with a swarm, causing NPR to suggest it could become an extreme sport.  I imagine the bees would get annoyed at having something fleshy and terrestrial trying to hang out with them, but maybe not.  I'd really like to see someone in our class try this.  Any takers?  I'll be ready with my camera.