Biology of Conflict in Honey-Bee Colonies
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Fred Stollnitz'}
Interactions within animal societies are a complex mix of cooperation           and conflict.  This study will examine how the individuals in the               honey-bee colony, a society exhibiting an extreme degree of                     cooperation, are nonetheless in conflict during certain of the                  colony's activities.                                                                                                                                            The study focuses on the point of greatest conflict in honey-bee                social life:  the division of the colony between queens during                  swarming.  It is among the first in hundreds of years of observations           on bees to describe the behaviors of individual bees during swarming            and afterswarming.  Of special interest in this study is an                     understanding of how the bees decide which queens leave with swarms             and how many swarms (queens) are produced, and how these decisions,             resulting large-scale, colony-wide events, are built up from the                behavior of individuals.                                                                                                                                        This research will contribute to the general theory of social behavior          by testing predictions of current evolutionary theory within a colony           of advanced social insects.  It will add to understanding of the way            in which evolution shapes animal communication, and it will broaden             our view of the nature of the societies of the advanced social insects          by showing how, because they are genetically distinct, individuals              within these societies may sharply conflict, although they so often             cooperate.                                                                                                                                                      In addition, the control of swarming in honey bees remains one of the           unsolved problems in practical management of honey bees for honey               production and pollination of food crops.  This research into the               surprisingly little-studied social biology of swarming may thus have            practical implications for the beekeeping industry and agriculture.
{'FirstName': 'Thomas', 'LastName': 'Seeley', 'EmailAddress': 'tds5@cornell.edu', 'StartDate': '08/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Cornell University', 'CityName': 'Ithaca', 'ZipCode': '148502820', 'PhoneNumber': '6072555014', 'StreetAddress': '373 Pine Tree Road', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'New York', 'StateCode': 'NY'}
{'Code': '1160', 'Text': 'IBN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8708668.xml'}