Close-up of bees on the surface of a swarm.

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When honeybees swarm, they form a cluster near the hive they are leaving and send out scouts to look for an appropriate place to establish a new hive. As scouts return to the cluster, they perform a "dance" on the surface of the cluster that indicates the location and quality of a site they have visited. More scouts leave to investigate this site. Eventually, the bees reach a consensus on the best site for a new hive, and the swarm relocates en masse to that site. Image DNKM5N shows the full swarm.

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Size: 3456px × 5184px
Location: Haydenville, Massachusetts, United States, , , US, USA
Photo credit: © Custom Life Science Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, animals, apidae, apis, arthropod, arthropods, bee, beekeeping, bees, close-, dance, decision-making, haplodiploid, haplodiploidy, honeybees, hymenoptera, hymenopteran, insect, insects, keeping, mellifera, social, swarm, swarming