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Honeybee Democracy (2010)

by Thomas D. Seeley(Favorite Author)

4.04 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0691147213 (ISBN13: 9780691147215)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Princeton University Press

review 1: In Honeybee Democracy, Seeley explains how honeybees split their hives and choose a new home. You don’t have to be fascinated by bees (as I am) to be intrigued by this book. The science – and the scientific method – are all explained in accessible language. It is a light read but it is full of heavy thoughts – about the nature of decision-making, of scientific inquiry, of the relationship between collectives (the hive, society) and individuals (honeybees, people). The problem Seeley has set out to understand is how honeybees decide it is time to split their community in two, seek a new home, and then make sure that they get there expeditiously. Honeybees do all this with extremely tiny brains, no hierarchy and no leader. The so-called “Queen bee” has no authori... morety in a hive and makes no decisions (her main role in life is to mate and lay eggs). Instead, it appears that a small share of honeybees – a few hundred older experienced foragers out of a hive of ten to forty thousand – sense the hive is ready for swarming and initiate a process by which the hive raises a new Queen (who will stay in the old hive), gets the old queen in shape for flying, and then mobilizes most of the honeybees to leave the old hive and collect on a branch as a swarm. The older foraging bees then becomes scouts, looking for a new nesting site and returning with information that they communicate through waggle dances, “debate” over which site is best, and eventually reach a quorum to select a new home.Seeley specifically compares this process to decision-making in primate brains, to New England Town Meetings, and to the way he has tried to run (or should I say facilitate?) decision-making in his department at Cornell University. His final chapter includes a wonderful list of ways to encourage better collective decision-making by human beings. The book led me to reflect on what is happening at conferences, world summits, and the like. Are we persuading one another through rational argument or are we doing waggle dances? With the shift from long lectures, to bullet-pointed slides, to TED talks, to unprepared conversational debates (“Davos style”), are we actually displaying our excitement about soundbite-size ideas and seeing how many other “scout bees” will respond and adhere to a new way of thinking? If so, it may be a good thing. The process works well for honeybees. I just think we need to pay more attention to two of the elements that Seeley highlighted, if collective human decisions are going to get as good as those of honeybees: (1) making assessments independently (to avoid “group think” and bias) and (2) letting go of individual preferences when a growing collective consensus emerges.Welcome to the hive!
review 2: What a beautiful read. Although some criticize his style, I personally love how utter excitement for the topic is depicted through his writing. Physically, the book is stunning. The cover is gorgeously designed, and the illustrations and pictures depicted in the book are marvelous. Most importantly, the content is absolutely gripping! As a beekeeper myself, I never fully understood the complex ballet that is swarming until I read this eloquent piece of art. I have to admit, at times, the in-depth examination of the experiments was a little overwhelming for an individual like myself with a limited biology background, but it never let up on its excitement. This book reaffirmed my appreciation and love for honeybees. Anything which wonderfully informs the public of the staggering intelligence of the honeybee is doing mother nature a great service. Simply put, this book is a gem. Save the honeybee! less

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