Efforts of Dancing Bees Are Often Wasted on Distracted Audience: Much has been made about the waggle dance, a fox trot of sorts that foraging honeybees do to tell their hive mates when they have found a good food source. The dance — a zigzagging figure eight maneuver performed in the hive — provides cues as to the direction and distance of the trove of flowers so the other bees can locate it. There is only one problem: Many bees seem to ignore the information. Instead, researchers in Argentina have found, the bees rely on their own memories of where to find food. [NYT]
Moose’s sharp hearing is attributed to antlers: They are some of the most extravagant headgear in the animal kingdom, but a moose’s antlers are not just for show. Scientists believe they act as elaborate hearing aids that help males to find calling females. [Guardian]
Scientists find that the nose knows a lot: Not only dogs and ants, but also albatrosses and fish use a sense of smell to find faraway food. [CSM]
Leave a Comment