Recognition

[BBC]

Dear experts,
Is there any evidence to support a claim that bees can recognise there keepers?
I was chatting with a fellow keeper yesterday who made the remark.

 

[enrico]

Dear experts,
Is there any evidence to support a claim that bees can recognise there keepers?
I was chatting with a fellow keeper yesterday who made the remark.

Not sure but mine only used to sting me when I started beekeeping and never my wife or children!

 

[pargyle]

Dear experts,
Is there any evidence to support a claim that bees can recognise there keepers?
I was chatting with a fellow keeper yesterday who made the remark.

Only apocryphal evidence ... but mine seem to accept me inspecting them whereas, on the few occasions that I have allowed someone else to do the inspection they have been less cooperative - they don't bother visitors to the apiary or anyone in the garden.

We know that bees have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell and perhaps they recognise the smell of their beekeeper - whether they have the ability to retain this memory ? Well, we know that dogs retain smell memories for years - if not for life - so there's no reason to deny that insects as intelligent as bees could have, at least, some ability to retain 'memory'.

Who knows ? Interesting question but does it matter and if it is the case - how do you prove it ?

 

[BBC]

Not sure but mine only used to sting me when I started beekeeping and never my wife or children!

Same here

 

[pargyle]

Same here

Yes, I get very few attempts to sting me these days - but is that about technique and confidence ?

 

[Boston Bees]

Is there any evidence to support a claim that bees can recognise there keepers?

No

 

[pargyle]

No

I seem to recall from somewhere that there was some experiments done that demonstrated that bees could recognise shapes and some colours ... it's not a huge step to suggest that they could recognise the shape of their keeper !

Here you go ... I knew I'd seen it somewhere:

https://www.science.org/content/article/bees-recognize-human-faces

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I was chatting with a fellow keeper yesterday who made the remark.

In a bar?
After how many pints?

 

[Finman]

Human face register is in brain. There can be 1.5 million faces saved as caricatyres.

I wonder the theory, what kind of face memory center a honeybee can have. How many human faces.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Human face register is in brain. There can be 1.5 million faces saved as caricatyres.

I wonder the theory, what kind of face memory center a honeybee can have. How many human faces.

Maybe just the one? Just like a phone ?

 

[Finman]

Quess whose caricature?

Brain identyfy faces from some features.
It is not known, how it happens.

It would be amazing, that a bee identifyes the beekeeper through the screen

 

[enrico]

Quess whose caricature?

Brain identyfy faces from some features.
It is not know, how it happens.

It would be amazing, that a bee identifyes the beekeeper through the screen

God!I hope it isn't you!!!!! If it is you look just like Prince Charles!

 

[BBC]

In a bar?
After how many pints?

Whilst inspecting our hives

 

[pargyle]

God!I hope it isn't you!!!!! If it is you look just like Prince Charles!

Yes . that's what I can see as well ..Proves Finnie's point ...

 

[blackcloud]

There's an entomology program on R4 and Sounds this week
A clip of the trailer was suggesting bees have a range of basic emotions.
Anger is obviously one of them- didn't need telling about that.

 

[Finman]

A clip of the trailer was suggesting bees have a range of basic emotions.
Anger is obviously ....

Emotions are called instincts in biology.

Bees or wasps defend their hives. On the fields they do not start to fight for fun, like a human on streets.

Bees have quards on the entrance.
They love to sting to your eye, when you go peep the entrance too near.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I seem to recall from somewhere that there was some experiments done that demonstrated that bees could recognise shapes and some colours ... it's not a huge step to suggest that they could recognise the shape of their keeper !

Here you go ... I knew I'd seen it somewhere:

https://www.science.org/content/article/bees-recognize-human-faces

Seems likely they would defend against the blundering oaf that rips their roof off and juggles their comb about every week if they did recognize him/her.

 

[JamezF]

On a (perhaps) related note, when bees get stroppy, do they target sources of CO₂ generated by the apparent cause? It seems to me that defensive bees target the lower half of my face, sometimes gathering in a small group on that part of the veil and the only reason I can think of is that perhaps they're drawn to the carbon dioxide in my exhaled breath. It seems less plausible that it's some kind of visual targeting.

James

 

[Wilco]

On a (perhaps) related note, when bees get stroppy, do they target sources of CO₂ generated by the apparent cause? It seems to me that defensive bees target the lower half of my face, sometimes gathering in a small group on that part of the veil and the only reason I can think of is that perhaps they're drawn to the carbon dioxide in my exhaled breath. It seems less plausible that it's some kind of visual targeting.

James

I think it's largely scent based as when I've had officious guards they usually appear when I'm upwind of the colony. They seem selective as to who they pick too... If one's being a PITA, my girls get left alone, as does the land owner. Also had a colony a few years ago which were fine with me but hounded the SBI after we'd moved away and back to the cars. It was quite embarrassing.

 

[JamezF]

I think it's largely scent based as when I've had officious guards they usually appear when I'm upwind of the colony. They seem selective as to who they pick too... If one's being a PITA, my girls get left alone, as does the land owner. Also had a colony a few years ago which were fine with me but hounded the SBI after we'd moved away and back to the cars. It was quite embarrassing.

I'd definitely agree there appears to be some sort of scent-based aspect to it. Guards from the stroppy queenless colony I've just broken up were clearly able to pick me out when standing in the garden having a conversation with my in-laws who they pretty much completely ignored.

I have wondered if they recognise me because of some residual smell of chlorine from the swimming pool. I try to swim four times a week every week and after a while the smell just seems to linger whatever you do, to the extent that there's a top available from some vendors of swimming gear with the slogan "Chlorine is my perfume" (though I prefer one my daughter had that said "I swim like a girl. Do try to keep up").

James