How to join a wave: decision-making processes in shimmering behavior of Giant honeybees (Apis dorsata).

ABSTRACT: Shimmering is a collective defence behaviour in Giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) whereby individual bees flip their abdomen upwards, producing Mexican wave-like patterns on the nest surface. Bucket bridging has been used to explain the spread of information in a chain of members including three testable concepts: first, linearity assumes that individual "agent bees" that participate in the wave will be affected preferentially from the side of wave origin. The directed-trigger hypothesis addresses the coincidence of the individual property of trigger direction with the collective property of wave direction. Second, continuity describes the transfer of information without being stopped, delayed or re-routed. The active-neighbours hypothesis assumes coincidence between the direction of the majo

SUBMITTER: Kastberger G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3359778 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature