Scientists Discover Honey Bees “Whoop” When They Bump Into Each Other

Most of us know the key role that honeybees plan in our survival. We may not appreciate them when we get stung but when you eat something they pollinate in the wild, there is much to be thankful for.

Because of their sting, we tend to keep a healthy distance between us and hone bees, especially when it comes to the hive.

After all, getting stung once is bad but angering dozens or hundreds of bees is a bad idea, to say the least.

It’s a shame we keep our distance because honeybees are amazing in what they do on a daily basis. Fortunately, we have the chance to see what they do through online videos.

When honeybees are busy working around the hive, they have the chance to interact with each other very closely. It almost looks like they are dancing around each other.

You may wonder, as you are watching the dance, how they move around that way and not bump into each other.

Actually, they do bump into each other on occasion:

That is where Martin Bencsik, a bee researcher was working with his team out of Nottingham Trent University.

According to Bee Trust Magazine, when recording the bees interacting with each other, they discovered something unexpected.

The bee’s wing vibrations have often been of interest to researchers. It was when the research team was recording the vibrations that they heard the bees exclaiming “whoop” when they bumped into each other.

It seemed to be both a verbal acknowledgment of surprise and a way of apologizing to the other bee.