Science: Bamboozling Bees

A bee knows the signs. When a foraging worker returns to the hive laden with pollen or nectar, she executes a stylized dance proclaiming her success. Fellow workers, by smelling the dancing bee, can tell at once what kind of flower she has been playing around with. Off they zoom hopefully, searching for like-smelling flowers.

In the current Entomological News, Dr. Rudolf G. Schmieder of the University of Pennsylvania told how science has learned these signs and put them to use. First to interpret the bee law of dance and scent was Professor Karl von Frisch of the University of Munich. Near...

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