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- Foreword to the Paperback Edition, by Thomas D. Seeley
- An Appreciation of Karl von Frisch, by Martin Lindauer
- Preface to the First Edition
- One: The Dance of Bees
- I. History
- II. Methods in General
-
- 1. The observation hive
- 2. Heatable observation hives
- 3. Rooms for bees
- 4. Marking the bees with numbers
- 5. We set up an artificial feeding place
- 6. Automatic recording of visits to the observation place
- 7. Cleaning the equipment: scents as sources of error
- 8. How bees are put to work or brought home
- 9. Measurement of the tempo and direction of dancing
- 10. Selection of the bees
-
- III. The Round Dance as a Means of Communication when Nectar Sources Are Nearby
- A. The objective is known to the bees informed
- 1. The scouts
- 2. The round dance
- 3. Contact without dancing can also be effective with other members of the same group
- 4. Diffuse information given when bees are fed at sugar-water dishes
- 5. Distinct information given when bees feed at flowers
- 6. Odors as a means of communication
- 7. The pollen collectors
- 8. The dance floor
- 9. Grouping according to odor
- Summary
- B. The objective is not known to the bees informed
- 10. Recruitment of additional helpers
- 11. New forces are aroused only when needed
- 12. How do the recruits find their objective?
- 13. The odor of the food sources as a guide to the newcomers
- 14. Experiments with flowers
- 15. The adhesiveness of odors to the bee’s body
- 16. Absence of communication about colors and shapes
- 17. The role of the scent organ
- Summary
- A. The objective is known to the bees informed
- IV. The Tail-Wagging Dance as a Means of Communication when Food Sources Are Distant
-
- 1. Description of the tail-wagging dance
- 2. The transition from the round dance to the tail-wagging dance
- 3. Comparison of nectar and pollen collectors
- Summary
- A. The indication of distance
- 4. The tempo of the dance
- 5. The influence of internal factors on the dance tempo
- 6. The influence of external factors on the tempo of dancing
- a. Temperature
- b. The wind
- c. Gradient of the flight path
- d. Pharmaceutical agents
- 7. How accurately can newcomers follow the distance indications? Stepwise experiments (Studenversuche)
- 8. What part of the tail-wagging dance is the signal that defines the distance?
- a. The components of the tail-wagging dance and their correlation with distance
- b. Experiments to vary components of the dance independently
- c. Comparison of the precision of searching and the accuracy of distance indication
- 9. How does the dancer gauge the distance?
- a. Bees do not signal the absolute distance to the goal
- b. The indication of distance is not based on the duration of the flight
- c. The expenditure of energy as a measure of the distance
- 10. The significance of the outward and the homeward flight in the indication of distance
- 11. The shape of the curve for distance
- Summary
- B. The indication of direction
- 12. First hints of the mode of indicating the direction of the goal
- 13. The indication of direction on a horizontal surface
- 14. The indication of direction on the surface of a vertical comb
- 15. Dances on an oblique comb surface
- 16. Individual differences in the indication of direction, and the influence of age
- 17. Comparison of the effects of round dances and tail-wagging dances
- 18. How precisely is the indication of direction followed by the newcomers? Experiments in a fan-shaped pattern
- 19. Dances when the sun is in the zenith
- 20. No indication of direction upward or downward
- 21. The significance of the outbound and homebound flights for the indication of direction
- 22. Detour experiments
- a. First observations and preliminary experiments
- b. Experiments on the Schafberg
- c. Experiments with Italian and Indian bees
- d. The biological aspect
- e. Detour experiments with bees on foot
- 23. The indication of direction in a crosswind
- 24. “Misdirection”
- a. Light-dependent “misdirection”
- b. “Misdirection” due to the force of gravity (“residual misdirection”)
- 25. The role of the scent organ and floral odors with distant sources of food
- 26. We look for a feeding station from directions supplied by the bees
- Summary
-
- V. Dependence of the Dances on the Profitability of Foraging Activity
-
- 1. Factors determining the release and liveliness of the dances
- a. The sweetness of the sugar solution
- b. The purity of the sweet taste
- c. Ease of obtaining the solution
- d. Viscosity
- e. Load
- f. Nearness of the food source
- g. Floral fragrance
- h. Form of the food container
- i. Uniform flow from the source of food
- j. General status of nourishment in the colony
- k. Improvement of the food
- l. Time of day
- m. Weather
- 2. Regulation of supply and demand on the flower market
- 3. The clocks of bees and of flowers
- Summary
- 1. Factors determining the release and liveliness of the dances
-
- VI. Guidance by Scent
-
- 1. Historical aspects
- 2. Methods
- 3. Results
- 4. Verification—but no useful application
- Summary
-
- VII. Application of the Dances to Other Objectives
-
- 1. Water
- 2. Bee glue (propolis)
- 3. Dwellings
- Summary
-
- VIII. Other Dance Forms
-
- 1. Jostling run, spasmodic dance, and sickle dance
- 2. The buzzing run
- 3. Grooming dance (shaking dance)
- 4. Jerking dance (D-VAV)
- 5. Trembling dance
- Summary
-
- IX. Danceless Communication by Means of Sounds and Scents
-
- 1. Sounds
- 2. Odors
- Summary
-
- X. Variants of the “Language of the Bees”
-
- 1. Racial differences (“dialects”)
- 2. Differences among species: the Indian bees
- 3. From primitive to successful messenger service with the stingless bees (Meliponini)
- 4. A brief glance at other social insects
- Summary
-
- XI. Phylogeny and Symbolism of the “Language of the Bees”
-
- Summary
-
- Two: The Orientation of Bees on the Way to the Goal
- XII. Orientation on Long-Distance Flights
- A. Landmarks
- B. The sun as a compass
- 1. Displacement experiments
- 2. Competition between the celestial compass and landmarks
- 3. The contribution of the time sense to orientation, and knowledge of the sun’s course
- 4. Perception of the sun through a cloud cover
- Summary
- C. Orientation by polarized light
- 5. The polarized light of the sky
- 6. Demonstration of orientation by polarized light
- 7. The connection between the polarization pattern and the position of the sun. Experiments in the shadow of a mountain
- 8. The use of artificial polarization patterns when the sky is cloud covered
- 9. The relative significance of the sun and polarization of the sky
- 10. What color range is effective in the perception of polarization?
- 11. What degree of polarization is needed for orientation?
- 12. On the function of the bees’ ocelli
- 13. Spontaneous orientation relative to the plane of vibration of polarized light
- 14. Is perception of polarization direct or indirect?
- a. Partial climination of the eyes
- b. Alteration of the reflected pattern
- c. Indirect and direct orientation in other animals
- 15. The analyzer for polarized light
- a. Is the analyzer in the dioptric system?
- b. The radical analyzer in the insects’ ommatidia
- 16. Structure of the visual rods and perception of polarized light in other groups of animals
- Summary
- D. A glance at other animals
- 17. Orientation to the plane of vibration of polarized light
- 18. The celestial compass
- a. Arthropods
- b. Vertebrates
- 19. Orientation to a magnetic field
- Summary
- XIII. Orientation when Near the Goal
- A. The orientation flights
- B. Optical orientation nearby
- 1. The bees’ color sense
- 2. Form vision
- 3. Vision in bees and the appearance of flowers
- C. Orientation nearby by means of the sense of smell and taste
- 4. Olfactory discrimination in bees
- 5. The location of the sense of smell
- 6. The capacity to localize by smelling
- 7. The bees’ olfactory acuity
- 8. The biological significance of floral odor
- 9. The sense of taste
- Summary
- XII. Orientation on Long-Distance Flights
- Retrospect
- References
- Index
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