Calibrating the Bee Odometer

Psalm 31:3
“For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.”

When a honeybee finds a good source of food, she returns to the hive to tell fellow bees where it is. Her dance tells nest mates the direction of the source from the nest and how far away it is. Researchers have long puzzled over how the bee knows the distance she has traveled. Several theories have been proposed, but until now, none have been proven.

Several years ago, an international research team convincingly demonstrated how bees know how far they have traveled visually. Researchers trained bees to fly through a 30 foot tube by placing food at the far side. Then they placed a checkerboard pattern inside the tube designed to make the bees think they had flown farther than they really had. Researchers found that the pattern made the bees think they had flown 31 times farther than they really had. After watching the bees that had gone through the tricky tube, researchers calculated that for every 18 degrees an image travels across the bee’s eye, she will dance for one millisecond as she communicates her discovery. As one researcher put it, they have calibrated the bees’ odometer.

Bees themselves are a wonder of design. The way they communicate their finds with one another are even more difficult to explain by those who accept evolution. These are all designs of the Creator Who wishes to guide us to Himself. He communicates with us through His Word that tells us of salvation through the forgiveness of sins that is found in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
Lord, continue to teach me to understand and believe Your Word. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 2/5/00, p. 87, “Bees log flight distances, train with maps.” Photo: Honeybees on comb. Courtesy of Magnus Manske. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)