|
33. Wenner, A. M.
That science is a process rather than an accomplishment is exemplified
by the ongoing question of how honey bees (Apis mellifera)
forage and recruit hivemates to resources. Ever since Aristotle,
those who have studied recruitment to food sources have favored
either one of two hypotheses, odor-search or "language"
use (see table and Wenner, et al., 1991, Amer. Zool.
31:768-782). Von Frisch embraced an odor-search hypothesis
in 1937 (e.g., Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution
for the Year Ended June 30, 1938, pp. 423-431) but then proposed
the "dance language" hypothesis in 1946 (The dances
of the honey bee. Bull. Anim. Behav. 5:1-32, 1947 -Translated
from: Die Tanze der Bienen. Oesterr. Zoolog. Zeitsch. 1:1-48,
1946). By contrast, our group embraced the language hypothesis
before 1965, but adopted an odor-search hypothesis after additional
evidence became available.
The von Frisch dance language hypothesis swept the world, even
though that hypothesis remained untested for 20 years and the
results of his early field experiments were inconclusive. Support
consensus became so strong that negative results from subsequent
definitive tests of the language hypothesis were ignored. Only
recently have the experimental designs in the classic 1946 paper
been examined critically; now, 46 years after introduction of
the language hypothesis, it is becoming evident that von Frisch's
1937 views on honey bee recruitment to food sources are more
applicable to nature than his later hypothesis.
Table - People and/or group leaders and the dates
they endorsed one or another hypothesis for recruitment of hivemates
to food sources.
|
Odor-Search Hypothesis |
"Language"
Hypothesis |
|
Person/group |
Date |
Person/group |
Date |
|
Aristotle |
~330 BC |
- |
| Butler |
1609 |
-
Spitzner |
-
1788 |
Wildman |
1768 |
-
Burroughs |
-
1875 |
Dujardin
Emery |
1862
1875 |
| Maeterlinck |
1901 |
Bonnier
Root |
1906
1908 |
|
Lineburg |
1924 |
|
|
|
Gowland |
1927 |
|
|
|
Von Frisch |
1937 |
Francon |
1938 |
|
Buzzard |
1946 |
Von Frisch |
1946 + |
|
Kalmus |
1960 |
Wenner |
1962 |
|
Wenner |
1967 + |
|
|
|
Rosin |
1970 + |
Gould |
1970 + |
| - |
Michelsen |
1989 + |
|
