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Vibration signal

Honey bee vibration signal

Vibration signal performed by worker on the left (red) on worker on the right (black). After Seeley (1995, fig. 6.3) The wisdom of the hive: the social physiology of honey bee colonies,
, Cambridge, p.295, (1995)
[1].


The vibration signal (also called "shaking signal") consists of a worker rapidly vibrating its body dorso-ventrally for one to two seconds while grasping a recipient
with its forelegs. The recipient can be a worker Factors influencing the selection of recipients by workers performing vibration signals in colonies of the honeybee, Apis mellifera,
Animal behaviour
, Volume 63, Number 2, p.361–367, (2002)
[2], queen Age and behavior of honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), that perform vibration signals on queens and queen cells,
Ethology
, Volume 104, Number 6, p.475–485, (1998)
[3], drone Communication signals used in worker–drone interactions in the honeybee, Apis mellifera,
Animal Behaviour
, Volume 78, Number 2, p.247–254, (2009)
[4] or queen cell Factors influencing the selection of recipients by workers performing vibration signals in colonies of the honeybee, Apis mellifera,
Animal behaviour
, Volume 63, Number 2, p.361–367, (2002)
[2].
Due to its relatively low frequency the shaking signal can be readily observed with the naked eye.

Review: The vibration signal, modulatory communication and the organization of labor in honey bees, Apis mellifera,
Apidologie
, Volume 35, Number 2, p.117–132, (2004)
[5]