Lessons to learn from the honeybee

Get informed, argue for your point of view, then move on.

Great advice for anyone who wants to be a good citizen, but a matter of survival for a honeybee hive.

Huh?

Yes, that's the lesson to be learned from a new book, "Honeybee Democracy," by Cornell professor Thomas Seeley.

As explained on NPR, when hives get too crowded in the spring, a queen is added and takes half the flock to a new home. But who chooses the new home?

Not the queen, according to Seeley's research.

It seems worker bees explore possible homes, then return to do a "waggle dance" to tell the hive about what they've found.

If she really likes the site, she'll do the dance hundreds of times, enticing other workers to check out the site themselves.

If they like it, they'll return and repeat the process until the entire group is persuaded to make the move.

But what if the site doesn't prove popular enough among her fellow workers?

In that case, Seeley says, once the bee has danced her dance, said her piece, so to speak, she simply gives up and moves on.

That works really well for bees, who are able to reach a consensus in a minimum amount of time and conflict.

That's not exactly how Congress, the Legislature or even the City Council works, and we certainly don't want a bunch of drones representing us in government.

But there is something to be said for saying your piece, making your point with passion and then moving on.

And, like an overly crowded honeybee hive, there are times when it's a matter of survival for our society, as well.