The modulation of worker behavior by the vibration signal during house hunting in swarms of the honeybee, Apis mellifera

During house hunting, honeybee, Apis mellifera, workers perform the vibration signal, which may function in a modulatory manner to influence several aspects of nestsite selection and colony movement. We examined the role of the vibration signal in the house-hunting process of seven honeybee swarms. The signal was performed by a small proportion of the older bees, and 20% of the vibrating bees also performed waggle dances for nestsites. Compared to non-vibrating controls, vibrating bees exhibited increased rates of locomotion, were more likely to move into the interiors of the swarms, and were more likely to fly from the clusters and perform waggle dances. Recipients responded to the signal with increased locomotion and were more likely than non-vibrated controls to fly from the swarms. Because vibration signals were intermixed with waggle dances by some vibrators, and because they stimulated flight in recipients, the signals may have enhanced nestsite scouting and recruitment early in the house-hunting process. All swarms exhibited increased vibration activity within 0.5-1 h of departure. During these final periods, numerous vibrating bees wove repeatedly in and out of the clusters while signaling and motion on the swarms increased until it culminated in mass night. The peaks of vibration activity observed at the end of the house-hunting process may therefore have activated the entire swarm for liftoff once a new nestsite had been selected. Thus, the vibration signal may help to integrate the behavior of numerous groups of workers during nestsite selection and colony relocation.