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| Hive Dynamics
It should come as no surprise that many a great author have used the honeybee hive as a metaphor for various human societies. The hive exemplifies a stratified societal unit, in which there exist clear divisions of labor. In every healthy hive there are three types of bees. There are the queens, whose sole existence is to continually reproduce, the drones, which ensure that queens are able to reproduce, and the workers, who like most animal societies, carry out the necessary duties to provide for the hive’s health and prosperity.
Honeybees exist for the purpose of the hive. There is certainly no “I” in honeybee, for “as social insects, bees...integrate their activities so that the sum of a colony functions much greater than what individuals could achieve independently” (Winston 1987:150). Communication plays a leading role in enabling the hive to function as one, and “...coupled with orientation mechanisms which can function over long distances, allows recruitment and exploitation of resources and is one of the foundations of social insect colonies” (Winston 1987:150).
As previously stated in the section on individual honeybee biology, “...bees have sensory organs and a nervous system and they respond to light odor, vibrations, touch, taste, gravity, and possibly electrical and magnetic forces” (Gojmerac 1980:27). Such organs are not only necessary to the individual bee, but in  functioning as transmitters of information, they are integral components to a hive’s ability to respond to certain stimulators. In addition, “honey bees are also governed by genetics and such factors as pheromones, circadian rhythm, photoperiod, temperature, and crowding” (Gojmerac 1980:27). Because of their innate sense of the surrounding environment, honeybees are able to increase or decrease metabolic rates in relation to the temperature gradient, and in regards to overcrowding, will divide the hive into two groups, one of which will depart with the goal of beginning a new colony.
Honeybees are extremely susceptible to any form of biological, or synthetic agent that may impede on their ability to communicate properly. Many scientists wonder how honeybees have lasted this long without issues of colony disease. It would seem that societies similar to that of the hive, where members are consistently in close contact with one another, greatly facilitate in the spread of pathogens. Honeybees, however, have a “strict system of sanitation...constantly preening [themselves]...” (Morse 1978:20), as well as removing debris from the hive. However, despite such sanitary measures, the honeybee is susceptible to disease when obtaining water possibly contaminated with fecal matter. It is in this way that it is “...thought that Nosemia apis spores may be brought into a hive...” (Morse 1978:20).
The hive is an organism made up of smaller organisms, and it relies heavily upon proper communication of its members. Perhaps the loss of one individual bee is not felt by the hive, but with each successive death, whether caused by parasitism or stress, the hive weakens until it can no longer support itself. It is such a weakening that is being observed in colonies throughout North America, and has beekeepers fearful of their industry’s future.
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