
What Bees Teach Us About Culture
One of my favorite childhood memories was going down to the basement and seeing five-gallon buckets full of honey! These “honey pots” were gifts from my grandfather, who for many years kept his own hive, in keeping with the family name “Beeman.”
Though I am far from my family roots and occupational heritage, there is still something fundamental about my work today that ties back to bees: culture.
Bees, like humans, have culture. At its most simplistic definition, culture is a group’s shared thought. While not nearly as complex as human society, we can learn important lessons about the basics of culture through bees.
Culture Needs Leaders
While it is tempting to focus on the communal nature of a Bee colony, it’s important to note that it too has its beginnings. For this example, I will focus on the Apis mellifera (European honey bee).

When a hive becomes overcrowded or the queen is becoming weak, the colony starts producing more queen bees. They do this by feeding a substance called “Royal Jelly,” to female larvae, influencing their development into queen bees. These queen bee larvae are not only fed Royal Jelly, but they also develop within larger, rounder shells, as they are physiologically larger than the other developing bees. Once the new queen emerges, she will destroy any other rival queens and/or their shells. The new queen will then take the previous queen’s place or leave the hive with a following of worker bees to start a new colony.
The natural order of leadership within the honey bee relies not only on the queen bee but also on the workers. The workers take note of the condition of the queen bee and the hive. When they see a need for a new queen, they start developing one. Likewise, when a new queen emerges, she is the one that leads the group to stay or go to a new location.
Culture Thrives On Communication
Bees may not be writing the latest crime thriller or developing poetry like Shakespeare, but they do communicate. Most communication is done through invisible pheromones, chemicals that they produce. These chemicals communicate the colony’s needs, like the need for a new queen.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating ways honey bees communicate is the “Waggle Dance.” This is the most well-known form of honey bee communication. It’s used by foraging bees to convey information about the location, distance, and quality of food sources (like flower patches) to other worker bees. The dance involves a figure-eight pattern with a “waggle” run in the middle. The angle of the waggle run relative to the sun indicates the direction of the food source. The duration of the waggle run and the intensity of the “waggle” indicate the distance and quality of the food source, respectively.
Culture Is Interdependence
As observed through the development of queen bees and communication within the hive, all bees rely on each other. A bee cannot live and reproduce on its own; it depends on the resources of the colony. Each bee in the colony has a role.
It takes all the bees in a colony to develop their city of wax and honey. The queen bee lays eggs and emits pheromones. Worker bees gather nectar and pollen, care for larvae, and build the hive. Drone bees mate with young queens and ensure genetic diversity.

Together, they create synergy, a cultural phenomenon where the actions of the many create something bigger than individual parts can do on their own. Building on each other’s successes, they continue their species as well as ours.
It’s amazing what we can learn about culture by studying the intricate society of bees. Their need for leadership, communication, and interdependence highlights the essential elements that shape any successful group, including our own. By recognizing these parallels and appreciating the complexities of the natural world, we can gain valuable insights into the dynamics of human culture and apply these lessons to foster progress and collaboration within our communities.