Why do bees buzz? Detailed answer

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Why do bees buzz? Detailed answer

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Why do bees buzz?

For communication.

Bees use buzzing - as well as movement, or "dance" - to convey information. Scientists have identified a dozen distinct sounds made by bees, some of which are directly related to specific types of bee activities.

The most obvious of the areas of application is "blowing". It serves to cool the hive. This sound is loud and even, about 250 vibrations per second, and besides, it is amplified by the hive itself. The volume of the buzz increases and when it is necessary to transmit a signal of danger (anyone who approaches the hive will certainly notice a change in tone). When the danger has passed, a series of bursts follows at an intensity of 500 oscillations per second - this means that "everything is clear", and the hive calms down.

The queen bee has a particularly rich sound range. When a new queen hatches, she emits a very high-pitched chirp, reminiscent of the squeak of a horn. Her sisters (still crouched in their cells) answer the call with a special kind of "croak". This is a big mistake on their part: there can only be one queen in the hive. Using the "croak" as a guide, the hatched queen bypasses the rivals in turn, breaks their cells and either stings the rivals to death or rips off their heads.

Bees hear with their paws: all sound "messages" in the hive are transmitted by vibration of different intensity. However, the most recent research shows that in addition to serving as the chemical receptors required for "smell", bee antennae can also be used as "ears". As it turned out, bee antennae are completely covered with tiny plates that look like eardrums. This explains why the worker bees touch the breast of the dancing scout bee with their antennae instead of "wagging" their abdomens during the so-called "wagging dance": they listen to instructions about the direction of the nectar source rather than see them. Especially since the hive is dark.

The question of what the bee buzzes with is much more controversial. Until recently, the following was considered the main version: the bee uses fourteen breathing holes (the so-called "spiracles") located on its sides, much like a trumpeter controls the sound of his instrument with his lips.

However, a new hypothesis has recently been put forward, which suggests that the buzzing is partly caused by the vibration of the bee's wings, slightly amplified by the bee's breast. If you cut the wings, the buzzing will not stop, but its timbre and intensity will noticeably change.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Why did a small island 42 km long become famous as a ship-eater?

Not far from Canada in the Atlantic Ocean is the island of Sable, which is called the "graveyard of the Atlantic" and the "ship-eater". The island, 42 kilometers long, has a narrow crescent shape and arose due to the meeting of the warm Gulf Stream with the cold Labrador current in this place. The main danger for ships stranded near Sable is its quicksand, which hid all types of ships from sailboats to steamboats, in total over 350 shipwrecks have been documented here. Another dangerous factor is the movement of the island - due to sand erosion on one side and alluvium on the other, Sable is moving east at a speed of more than 200 meters per year.

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