Honeybee Democracy / Thomas D. Seeley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Seeley, Thomas D., author.

Series:

Princeton Shorts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Honeybee--Behavior.

Insect societies.

Honeybee.

Local Subjects:

Honeybee--Behavior.

Insect societies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (283 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2010]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

PROLOGUE

1. INTRODUCTION

2. LIFE IN A HONEYBEE COLONY

3. DREAM HOME FOR HONEYBEES

4. SCOUT BEES' DEBATE

5. AGREEMENT ON BEST SITE

6. BUILDING A CONSENSUS

7. INITIATING THE MOVE TO NEW HOME

8. STEERING THE FLYING SWARM

9. SWARM AS COGNITIVE ENTITY

10. SWARM SMARTS

EPILOGUE

Notes

Acknowledgments

Illustration Credits

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9786612820991

9781282820999

1282820990

9781400835959

140083595X

OCLC:

670429652