{"product_id":"the-social-behavior-of-the-bees-belknap-press-9780674811751","title":"The Social Behavior of the Bees (Belknap Press)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough the honeybee is without doubt mans favorite social insect  and the most studied by him  there are twenty thousand other species of bees  many of which are social. This book is the first to offer a systematic account of social behavior in the entire super family Apoidea. Of all the social insects  the various species of bees exhibit perhaps the broadest spectrum of social behavior  including intermediate stages which are scarce or totally extinct in other groups; in this respect the bees are particularly appropriate subjects for evolutionary study.  With the aid of more than 200 illustrations  Charles Michener characterizes and describes all levels of social organization in the beesfrom simple aggregations of solitary nests to elaborate  eusocial colonies. He reviews the entire repertoire of social behavior in bees and gives detailed attention to mechanisms of communication  division of labor  determination of sex and caste  maintenance and control of nest conditions  and organization of defense. In a major chapter the evolutionary context of the bee societies is extensively explored; the author examines the selective advantages and disadvantages entailed in evolving nonreproductive castes  the problem of multiple  independent origins of eusociaI behavior  and the question of direction in the evolution of social behavior. The final section is an account of the life history and behavioral attributes of each of the groups of social bees.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647852535861,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674811755","price":58.07,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674811751.jpg?v=1781698252","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-social-behavior-of-the-bees-belknap-press-9780674811751","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}