Author: Seeley, T.D.
Language: English
Year of publication: 2010
Number of pages: 273
Type of publication: Book
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication location: BfD Library

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A wonderful book by Tom Seeley. Contained here is explanation of how honey bee colonies reach consensus to make the right decisions, and hence the title: Honeybee democracy. Understanding how a honey bee society (i.e. one colony) collects facts, debates them and then acts upon the majority decision, will enhance your appreciation of bees: by taking information from a large number of individuals, the best decision is made. There is guidance here for running our own societies and how groups can best achieve optimal decision making. The book explains the recent work of many researchers, which together with Seeley’s own research, provide excellent insight into how simple but ingenious research can be conducted and then interpreted. The book contains much information about natural nesting of honey bees and how they chose their nesting places, and this is used to explain how swarms arrive at decisions on nest site selection. This involves accumulating a diversity of knowledge, enabling a competition between the variety of ideas (the different nesting places identified by the scout bees), and a voting system for the crowd to then take a well-informed decision. An extensive note section provides further helpful explanation of many topics mentioned in the text. Seeley’s compelling writing style, combined with a beautifully produced and illustrated text, make this a highly attractive and informative new work that can only deepen our admiration for honey bee societies.