Gene expression tied to social behavior in honey bees

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Offline Asif.Hossain

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Gene expression tied to social behavior in honey bees
« on: April 13, 2014, 09:48:30 AM »
The various behaviors of honey bees, some of which are listed on the record card systems are listed along the left hand buttons.
Honey bees are social insects and are successful because the conduct of each individual bee is in concert with her sisters (and half sisters), but the behavior of groups of individuals is also complimentary in the main, although the groups represented by different patrilines, can often exhibit differences in demeanor. Overall, this diversity makes the whole unit more adaptable to changes in circumstance.


Reflection is the key to recognizing behaviors. This may be performed with sophisticated observation hives and equipment, or by making observations whilst conducting your routine bookkeeping. The "reading" of a colony is an ability that will come with experience, but remember that when a colony is smoked and taken apart, the coherence of the colony is disturbed and they won't behave normally. We must constantly recall it is dark inside a settlement and we introduce light when we spread it. The action that can be viewed on the alighting board can also be really exposing. The older beekeepers learnt much of what was taking place in their colonies from observation, simply by sitting and observing them.
If you are an objective observer and do not allow your conclusions to just settle in line with what you may have read about or been taught by others, you will find out a great deal.
Do not be afraid to challenge established thoughts and opinions, it is by constantly re-evaluating what we consider that our knowledge is gained.
In the context of bees the words 'behavior' and 'characteristic' may have a mixture of significances. They are used here with the widest interpretation, as in some cases I'm not sure if there is any conflict, e.g. I am not very sure whether drifting is a 'behavior' or a 'characteristic', but I have tagged it onto this card anyway.
This catalogue of behavioral characteristics (see the level I made above about meanings) keeps on rising... One affair that I am looking into with the thought of adding yet another page is... The allowance of a colony for multiple queens. Which is strongly linked with supersedure.

Muhammad Asif Hossain
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