What's good for the hive is good for the bee

The Roman philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius is often quoted as saying, "That which is not good for the beehive cannot be good for the bees."  In other words, what is detrimental or harmful to the overall wellbeing of a collective group or community will ultimately have negative consequences for the individuals within that group.  Marcus Aurelius uses the analogy of a beehive to illustrate this concept - bees are one of the best-known examples of group behavior.  In order for the bee colony to thrive and survive, the individual bees must work together for the collective good of the whole.

We can learn a lot from bees.  The research scientist and author Mark Winston writes, "Bees teach us that leaders best serve society when they promote core ideals that unite rather than divide."  But what's particularly interesting is that even though a typical bee colony appears to be relatively homogenous at first glance, they are incredibly diverse.  The population of a honey bee colony may reach 50,000 individual bees.  These colonies are comprised of stepsister worker bees who all share the same queen mother but with different (15-20) drone fathers.  If you spend the time looking at the individual bees in the colony (NOT an easy task!), you will note the incredible diversity.  Some of the bees are jet black, while others may be yellow or even brown.  All of the bees play different roles too, whether it's foraging for nectar or pollen, helping to rear the larvae, or defending the hive.  

The temperature inside a bee hive is closely regulated between 32 to 36 degrees Celsius.  If it's too cold or too hot in the hive, the young larvae do not survive.  Bees regulate the temperature inside the hive by huddling together (to increase the temperature) or fanning their wings at the entrance (to decrease the temperature).  What's striking is that scientists have found that hives with greater genetic diversity (more drone fathers) are better at maintaining the temperature within a constant range compared to hives with less diversity (few drone fathers).  In other words, greater diversity actually produces more stability!  

Similarly, even though greater diversity allows the hive to thrive, the bees still need to work together and collaborate for the greater good of the collective group.  Winston writes, "Honey bee workers spend considerable time in the hive listening to each other, picking up information about what needs to be done within the colony and what might be happening outside that requires their attention."  It is a beautiful, even if paradoxical metaphor for how individuals work together in a group.  Greater diversity leads to greater stability and allows the group to thrive.  Yet, greater diversity requires more collaboration and work for the collective good.