Honeybees Tracked with Radar

Numbers 13:27
“Then they told him, and said: ‘We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.'”

Honey has always been a popular food. For thousands of years it was a symbol of prosperity. Perhaps honey’s continuing appeal is one of the reasons there is so much research on honeybees. A research team has released their findings that explain how honeybees learn how to navigate. Another team has released information showing how bees know how far they have traveled.

Before a honeybee can go out looking for food for the first time, it needs at least one training flight. Researchers cleverly attached tiny wires to bees to keep track of the bees’ flight paths. They used radar tracking to make maps of the honeybees’ flight paths. They found that after the trainee hovers in front of the hive, it makes a straight line away from the hive for a short distance, then returns. As training progresses, the trainee flies faster and farther, demonstrating progressive learning.

The Israelites had to endure 40 years in the wilderness because they did not faithfully trust God to do what He said. As believers wander through the wilderness that is this life, we need to learn from Israel and trust God’s Word, even if we can’t understand how God can keep His promises. His Word brings the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, which is sweeter than honey. Believing His promises will bring us to the promised land of heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Father, I thank You for Your Word and the salvation it has brought me through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 2/5/00, p. 87, “Bees log flight distances, train with maps.” Photo: Honeybee carrying pollen back to its hive. Courtesy of Muhammad Mahdi Karim. (GFDL 1.2)