Lessons for business / society

1. The Bee Story
Lessons for business

2. Bee Society
Queen, Drone, Workers
◦ Queen Attendants
◦ Drone feeding
◦ Honey sealing
◦ Honeycomb building
◦ Pollen packing
◦ Propolizing
◦ Mortuary bees
◦ Fanning bees
◦ Water carriers
◦ Guard bees
◦ Foraging bees

3. Food
 Nectar and Pollen is collected
 Nectar is stored in honey
stomach
 Back at the hive, nectar is
passed from bee to bee
(reducing moisture content) until
honey is produced
 Honey and pollen are mixed to
make ‘bread’

4. Dance
 Scout bees will dance to
tell others where to find
the pollen
 Three different types of
dances – round, sickle and
wagtail
 Dance tells distance,
direction and quality of
food

5. Following the Dance
 Essential that forager bees
follow the dance to gather
nectar.
 300 bees take about three
weeks to gather 450 g of
honey
 Survival of the hive
depends on this food
source

6. Ignoring the Dance
 Small number of bees ignore the dance
 Long term survival of hive depends on these
‘scout’ bees for they find new sources of
nectar

7. Lessons for business / society
What do we call people who ‘ignore the dance’?
How are they treated by others?
How can we benefit from them?
Any examples of this?