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Science 4 April 1969:
Vol. 164. no. 3875, pp. 84 - 86
DOI: 10.1126/science.164.3875.84
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Articles

Honey Bee Recruitment to Food Sources: Olfaction or Language?

Adrian M. Wenner 1, Patrick H. Wells 2, and Dennis L. Johnson 3

1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106
2 Department of Biology, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California 90041
3 Department of Life Sciences, U. S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80840

Honey bee recruits locate food sources by olfaction and not by use of distance and direction information contained in the recruitment dance. Recruitment efficiency increases as odor of the food source accumulates in the hive, from hour to hour and from day to day. Flight patterns, landing patterns, bee odor, and Nassanoff secretion apparently do not aid in recruitment of bees.


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