von frishches bee study

Question 1

What was von Frisch’s bee study?

Answer 1

described dances performed by the bees - how bees communicated

Question 2

method?

Answer 2

ethologist - studied animals within there natural habitat
changed aspects of the bees environment - studied behaviour

Question 3

what would he change(food)

Answer 3

put food closer to the hive(10-20 metres)
further away ( up to 300 metres)
6000 observations of the bees over 20 years

Question 4

what were the results of this study?

Answer 4

worker bees tell other worker bees where the food is - do this by performing a dance

Question 5

what is the round dance?

Answer 5

food is less than 100 metres away - moves around in circle changing direction - will know that the source of food is nearby

Question 6

what is the waggle dance?

Answer 6

bee moves in an figure of 8 - straight section bee moves it abdomen - direction of the straight line tells bees what direction food is located- slower bee performs the dance, further away the pollen is

Question 7

conclusion of this study?

Answer 7

bees are a sophisticated form of animal communication - speed and accuracy of the dances had given the bees valuable info - helps bees survival

Question 8

evaluation?

Answer 8

important contrubution towards science - careful observation over many years - knew that bees could dance did not know the meaning - nobel prize - valuable to ecology

overlooked - harold esch found out that the bees danced in silence, not go and investigate the food sources, bees would normally make sounds within there dances, another form of communication bees would respond too, dance may just be one part of the bees communication