I Quack. But I am not a Duck.
I Pipe. But I am not a Bagpiper.
I Toot. But I am not a Horn.
Question: What am I???
Answer: A Honey Bee Queen.
Quacking, Piping, and Tooting is the potent and persuasive language of a Honey Bee Queen.
The language of Honey Bees is beautiful, complex, and fascinating. But quacking, piping, and tooting are reserved for the Queen Honey Bee – her own royal lingo!
As Queens develop, they make specific sounds. Piping is believed to be a signal between rivals – virgin Queens getting ready to duke it out to ascend to the throne.
Honking and tooting are forms of queen piping.
Even the master composer “Bee”thoven would be impressed. Queen piping sounds like A-flat or G-sharp, lasting for about a second followed by “a string of ¼-second pulses”. Quacking refers to the short pulses minus the preliminary long toot. Queens quack while still in their cells.
Honey Bees are powerful communicators within large, complex societies. They can communicate information to one another by transferring food and vital nutrients such as pollen and royal jelly to one another. While transferring, signals are conveyed that identify new nectar sources, floral hotspots, or approaching threats (such as a skunk or a bear). This is known as “Trophallaxis”.
Honey Bees use dance to communicate sources and distance to a flower patch performing special dances in the hive known as “a waggle dance” and “a round dance”. They can also communicate the quality of the food source!
These brilliant social insects memorize flowers and human faces! They can use tools and can count! Research indicates that they feel pain – and perhaps even feel basic emotions such as optimism and pessimism!
Spoiler Alert: We can’t live without them!
“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors but because she labors for others”. ~ St. John Chrysostom
Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Blog Post: July 1, 2024
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