bee communication

the use of a set pattern of movements by a bee to communicate to other bees the direction and approximate distance to a source of food or a nest site. It comprises both a round dance and a waggle dance in the form of a figure 8; the intensity of these dances communicates the relative quality of a resource. The direction of the straight portion of the waggle dance with respect to gravity in the hive indicates the direction of the resource with respect to the sun. This dancing language is often cited as an example of bees’ ability to communicate about objects distant in time and space, but alternative explanations suggest that other signals (e.g., odors) are equally important in locating food sources.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

September 8th 2024

complementary class

in set theory, the totality of elements that do not belong to a particular class. For example, if A is the class of all psychologists, then its complementary class is the class of all people who are not psychologists.