We Need Bees: Why are bees one of the most studied creatures on Earth? First, humans need bees to survive. Without bee pollination, flowering plants would die out, which means no fruits and vegetables for us. Second, they’re intelligent – with a language, and capable of  learning,

Navigating: Honey bees have a complex kind of GPS. They find their way by using the sun, patterns of polarized light in the sky, their magnetic sense, memory of landmarks, and smell.

Dances: The bee dance is ‘the second most complex language in the world‘ (Prof. James Gould).  It shows direction, distance, and quality of flowers – all this in the darkness of the hive! Bees are the only other creature we know of with a language of symbols.

This movie shows how a backyard beehive (mine) works and how honey is made.

Honeycomb: Bees build these perfect hexagons with their feet and mouths, sloping at exactly 13 degrees:

Smart Bee: Honey bees can learn, count, tell time, measure, memorize, and make decisions.  Are they conscious? We don’t know, but here they are discussing the question:

Beeutiful Photo by Sarah Anderson

Read excellent Scientific American articles on bee research.

Learn more about bees.