Honey bees exhibit a fascinating behavior known as festooning, where they link together to form living chains or curtains within their hive. This collective action, though commonly observed, remains a subject of ongoing scientific investigation regarding its precise purpose. Understanding why bees engage in festooning provides insight into the complex social dynamics and cooperative efforts that define a honey bee colony.
Understanding Festooning Behavior
Festooning involves honey bees interlocking their legs and mandibles, creating a mesh-like structure or a single line of hanging bees. These formations can vary in density and length, sometimes appearing as delicate lace-like sheets between hive frames. This behavior is observed in honey bees (Apis mellifera) and occurs during active periods of comb construction or repair, especially in spring and early summer or when new swarms establish a home.
Bees may stretch between frames, forming bridges that can be one bee wide or expand across the width of a frame. Worker bees, specifically those with active wax glands, participate in festooning. The underlying reasons for this coordinated effort have led to several scientific theories.
Leading Theories for Festooning
One prominent theory suggests that festooning aids in temperature regulation, necessary for wax production and manipulation. Beeswax secretion requires a hive temperature between approximately 91 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit (33-36 degrees Celsius). By clustering together in festoons, bees generate and conserve heat, creating a localized microenvironment conducive to producing and sculpting wax flakes into hexagonal cells.
Another theory proposes that festooning serves as a method for precise measurement and structural integrity during comb construction. The hanging chains may act as living rulers, helping bees accurately gauge distances and angles for uniform cell size and strong hive architecture. This behavior ensures correct spacing between combs and provides a temporary scaffolding for bees to build upon. Bees adjust their positions within the chain to maintain the curvature and consistent spacing of the wax strands.
Festooning might also facilitate communication and coordination among hive members. The close physical contact within the festoon allows for the efficient transfer of information, such as pheromones or vibrations, which can coordinate comb-building efforts. This physical connection helps synchronize movements and maintain the structural integrity of the developing comb. A pheromone might be released to attract other bees to the construction site, signaling that work is underway.
Furthermore, festooning could be an efficient way for bees to cluster and optimize space, particularly in a new swarm or during periods of high population density. This clustering behavior also provides structural support for newly constructed comb, preventing it from collapsing before it solidifies. While bees can build comb without festooning, the behavior is frequently observed when significant construction or repair is taking place.
Colony Advantages of Festooning
The collective festooning behavior yields significant advantages for the entire honey bee colony. It leads to the construction of highly efficient and structurally sound honeycombs, essential for storing honey and pollen, and for rearing brood. The precise and uniform cell construction achieved through festooning minimizes wasted wax and space, optimizing the use of valuable resources within the hive. This contributes to the colony’s productivity, supporting honey production and successful offspring development.
An active and visible festooning behavior is often considered an indication of a healthy and thriving colony. This coordinated effort contributes to the colony’s stability, especially during critical phases like establishing a new hive after swarming. The ability of bees to work together in such a synchronized manner underscores their capacity for cooperative tasks.