Abstract
In the mid-1930s, Karl von Frisch proposed the equivalent of an odor-search hypothesis for honey bee recruitment to food sources. A decade later he switched to the equivalent of a “dance language” hypothesis (though he apparently did not consider his conclusions as hypotheses in either case). The later and more exotic hypothesis rapidly gained acceptance, but it failed its first experimental tests in the mid-1960s; searching recruits did not behave as von Frisch indicated they should under the language hypothesis. His earlier and more conservative odor-search hypothesis meshed better with results obtained in those test experiments. Language advocates then ignored basic precepts of scientific process, rejected and/or ignored results not in accord with their favored hypothesis, and instead repeatedly sought additional supportive evidence. While so doing, they inadvertently accumulated yet more evidence counter to von Frisch's original intent. By invoking ad hoc modifications and qualifications, advocates weakened, rather than strengthened, the hypothesis they continued to embrace. That strict adherence to the language hypothesis has had an unfortunate result; the exclusive investment in that line of research by various governmental agencies has failed to provide practical help to beekeepers or growers in the past half-century.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
REFERENCES
Bernard, C. ([1865] 1957). An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, Dover, New York.
Carde, R. T. (1984). Chemo-orientation in flying insects. In Bell, W. J., and Carde, R. T. (eds), Chemical Ecology of Insects, Chapman and Hall, New York, pp. 111–124.
Chalmers, A. F. ([1976] 1978). What Is This Thing Called Science? Open University Press, Milton Keynes, UK.
Chamberlin, T. C. ([1890] 1965). The method of multiple working hypotheses. Science 148: 754–759.
Crane, E. (1990). Bees and Beekeeping: Science, Practice, and World Resources, Heinemann Newnes, Oxford.
Donovan, B. J. (2000). A comprehensive honey bee dance and odour “language” hypothesis. Bee World 81: 5–10.
Dyer, F. C. (2002). The biology of the dance language. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 47: 917–949.
Esch, H., and Bastian, J. A. (1970). How do newly recruited honey bees approach a food site? Z. Vergl. Physiol. 68: 175–181.
Fleck, L. ([1935] 1979). Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Free, J. B. (1987). Pheromones of Social Bees, Cornell University Press, lthaca, NY.
Friesen, L. (1973). The search dynamics of recruited honey bees, Apis mellifera liguistica Spinola. Biol. Bull. 144: 107–131.
Gary, N. E. (1992). Activities and behavior of honey bees. In Graham. J.M(ed.), The Hive and the Honey Bee, Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, IL, pp. 269–372.
Gould, J. L. (1976). The dance-language controversy. Q. Rev. Biol. 51: 211–244.
Gould, J. L., and Gould, C. G. (1988). The Honey Bee, Scientific American Library, New York.
Gould, J. L., Henerey, M., and MacLeod, M. C. (1970). Communication of direction by the honey bee. Science 169: 544–554.
Gould, S. J., and Vrba, E. S. (1982). Exaptation—A missing term in the science of form. Palebiology 8: 4–15.
Hailman, J. P. (1977). Bee dancing and evolutionary epistemology. Am. Nat. 11: 187–189.
Hill, P. S. M., Wells, P. H., and Wells, H. (1997). Spontaneous flower constancy and learning in honey bees as a function of colour. Anim. Behav. 54: 615–627.
Kak, S. C. (1991). The honey bee dance language controversy. Mankind Q. 31: 357–365.
Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. In Lakatos, I., and Musgrave, A. (eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Proceedings of the International Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science, London, Vol. 4, pp. 91–195.
Latour, B. (1987). Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, England.
Lindauer, M. (1961). Communication Among Social Bees, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Lindegren, C. C. (1966). Cold War in Biology, Planarian Press, Ann Arbor, MI.
Medawar, P. B. ([1979] 1981). Advice to a Young Scientist, Harper and Row, New York.
Michelsen, A. (1993). The transfer of information in the dance language of honeybees: Progress and problems. J. Comp. Physiol. A 173: 135–141P.
Michelsen, A., Andersen, B. B., Kirchner, W. H., and Lindauer, M. (1989). Honeybees can be recruited by a mechanical model of a dancing bee. Naturwissenschaften 76: 277–280.
Michelsen, A., Andersen, B. B., Storm, J., Kirchner, W. H., and Lindauer, M. (1992). How honeybees perceive communication dances, studied by means of a mechanical model. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 30: 143–150.
Michener, C. D. (1974). The Social Behavior of the Bees: A Comparative Study,Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
O'Dea, J. D. (2000). Why do honeybees dance? http://naturalscience.com/ns/articles/01-13/nsjdo. html
Platt, J. R. (1964). Strong inference. Science 146: 347–353.
Popper, K. R. (1957). Philosophy of science: A personal report. In Mace, C. A. (ed.), British Philosophy in the Mid-Century, Macmillan, New York.
Ribbands, C. R. (1953). The Behaviour and Social Life of Honeybees, Bee Research Assoc. London.
Rosin, R. (1980). The honey-bee “dance language” hypothesis and the foundations of biology and behavior.J. Theor. Biol. 87: 457–481.
Schmidt, J.O. (1994). Attraction of reproductive honey bee swarms to artificial nests by Nasonov pheromone. J. Chem. Ecol. 20: 1053–1056.
Schmidt, J. O. (1999). Attractant or pheromone: The case of Nasonov secretion and honeybee swarms. J. Chem. Ecol. 25: 2051–2056.
Seeley, T. D. (1985). Honeybee Ecology: A Study of Adaptation in Social Life, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Seeley, T. D. (1995). The Wisdom of the Hive: The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Steinbeck, J. ([1941] 1962). The Log from the Sea of Cortez, Viking, New York.
Towne, W. F., and Gould, J. L. (1988). The spatial precision of the honey bees' dance communication. J. Insect Behav. 1: 129–155.
Vadas, R. L., Jr. (1994). The anatomy of an ecological controversy: Honey-bee searching behavior. Oikos 69: 158–166.
Veldink, C. (1989). The honey-bee language controversy. Interdisc. Sci. Rev. 14: 166–175.
von Frisch, K. (1937). The language of bees. Sci. Progr. 32: 29–37 (reprinted inWenner, 1993).
von Frisch, K. (1943). Versuche uber die Lenkung des Bienenfluges durch Dufstoffe [Experiments on directing bee flight by odors]. Naturwissenschaften 31: 445–460. [Translation by W. J. Nolan: Library of the International Bee Research Association.]
von Frisch, K. (1947). The dance of the bees. Bull. Anim. Behav. 5: 1–32.
von Frisch, K. (1948). Solved and unsolved problems of bee language. Bull. Anim. Behav. 9: 2–25.
von Frisch, K. (1950). Bees: Their Vision, Chemical Senses, and Language, Cornell University Press, lthaca NY.
von Frisch, K. (1962). Dialects in the language of the bees. Sci. Am. 207: 78–87.
von Frisch, K. (1967). The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Waller, G. D. (1970). Attracting honeybees to alfalfa with citral, geraniol, and anise. J. Apicult. Res. 9: 9–12.
Weidemuller, A., and Seeley, T. D. (1999). Imprecision in waggle dances of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) for nearby food sources: error or adaptation? Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 46: 190–199.
Wells, P. H. and Wenner, A. M. (1971). The influence of food scent on behavior of foraging honeybees. Physiol. Zool. 44: 191–209.
Wells, P. H., and Wenner, A. M. (1973). Do bees have a language? Nature 241: 171–174.
Wells, P., Wells, H., Vadehrav. Vu, N., Lee, C., Han, R., Han, K., and Chang, L. (1993). Does honey bee Nasanov pheromone attract foragers? Bull. South. Calif. Acad. Sci. 92: 70–77.
Wenner, A. M. (1959). The relationship of sound production during the waggle dance of the honey bee to the distance of the food source. Bull. Entomol. Soc. Am. 5: 142.
Wenner, A. M. (1962). Sound production during the waggle dance of the honey bee. Anim. Behav. 10: 79–95.
Wenner, A. M. (1964). Sound communication in honey bees. Sci. Am. 210: 116–124. 878 Wenner
Wenner, A.M. (1971). The Bee Language Controversy: An Experience in Science, Educational Programs Improvement Corp., Boulder, CO.
Wenner, A. M. (1992). Swarm movement: A mystery explained. Am. Bee J. 132: 27–31. Wenner, A. M. [with K. von Frisch] (1993). The language of bees. Bee World 74: 90- 98.
Wenner, A.M. (1997).The role of controversy in animal behavior. In Greenberg, C, and Tobach, E. (eds.), Comparative Psychology of Invertebrates: The Field and Laboratory Study of Insect Behavior, Garland, New York, pp. 3–37.
Wenner, A.M. (1998a). Honey bee “dance language” controversy. In Greenberg, C., and Hara, M. (eds.), Comparative Psychology: A Handbook, Garland, New York, pp. 823–836.
Wenner, A.M. (1998b). Odors, wind and colony foraging—Part I. The need for odor. Am. Bee J. 138: 746–748.
Wenner, A. M. (1998c). Odors, wind and colony foraging—Part II. The role of wind direction. Am. Bee J. 138: 807–810.
Wenner, A. M. (1998d). Odors, wind and colony foraging—Part III. Insights from beehunting. Am. Bee J. 138: 897–899.
Wenner, A. M., and Wells, P. H. (1990). Anatomy of a Controversy: The Question of a “Language” Among Bees, Columbia University Press, New York.
Wenner, A. M., Meade, D., and Friesen, L. J. (1991). Recruitment, search behavior, and flight ranges of honey bees. Am. Zool. 31: 768–782.
Wilson, E. O. (1971). The Insect Societies, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Winston, M. L. (1987). The Biology of the Honey Bee, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Winston, M. L., and Slessor, K. N. (1993). Applications of queen honey bee mandibular pheromone for beekeeping and crop pollination. Bee World 74: 111–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wenner, A.M. The Elusive Honey Bee Dance “Language” Hypothesis. Journal of Insect Behavior 15, 859–878 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021131725124
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021131725124