Apparently they can!  They can also vote and serve (or be served, more likely) as president.
If only people were as selfless as honeybees, then socialism might work.  Given that most people are selfish and lazy, however, we know from history that socialism leads to economic collapse which is then closely followed by tyranny and the trampling of individual rights.
The only tyrant in the world of the honey bee is man.

"Actually, democracy, in the sense of collective decisions based on the motivations of the majority, guides the social interactions and group behavior of many species from honey bees to chimpanzees.
Though they have a queen, honey bees don't live in a monarchy.
'There is no social hierarchy in a bee colony,' said Brian Johnson, a professor of entomology at the University of California at Davis told Discovery News. 'The queen is just an egg laying machine. She is more important than the average worker to colony survival, but she is not a governor in any sense of the word.'
Though there is no formal voting process, the hive acts according to the information gathered by the majority of hive members.
'This is crucial for bees because they have limited information at the individual level and can only make good decisions when they pool their information-gathering and processing skills,' Johnson said."

Chimps and Bees Do It, But Is Democracy Natural?
By Tim Wall

This article is the Bee's Knees!

"The Bee’s Knees is a classic Prohibition cocktail made with Gin, honey, and lemon juice whose origins are myth and legend. The drink’s moniker may have originated from 'flapper chatter' of the 1920s and means the height of excellence. Bootleggers and their ilk may have created the drink to hide the raw juniper taste and smell of bathtub gin. The honey and lemon certainly do a swell job masquerading the liquor but do not file under light concoctions. Friends, make no mistake, the Bee’s Knees is very potent."

The Bee’s Knees
Written by Fredo Ceraso 

What is reality?  One author suggests that it's wrong to anthropomorphize animals because it distorts objective reality.

"There are at least two other ways in which we routinely corrupt our understanding of the non-human world by our choice of language: the use of words to name or describe an animal and the description of animal behaviour in human terms."
The Beatrix Potter Syndrome
By Philip Chandler

However, I would argue that objective reality is whatever reality the individual happens to subscribe to.

"Now physicists from Austria claim to have performed an experiment that rules out a broad class of hidden-variables theories that focus on realism -- giving the uneasy consequence that reality does not exist when we are not observing it ."
Quantum physics says goodbye to reality
Jon Cartwright

So physics says that reality is whatever you see.  And, if we assume that each one of us views the world in our own unique way, then reality differs for each and every one of us.  Therefore, there is no "objective" reality.  All reality is subjective.  If I want to anthropomorphize honey bees in my view of reality, well then, that's just as scientifically acceptable as any of the more objective (human-detached) views of honey bees, the insect world, or animals in general.  Furthermore, if I don't exist, then nothing else exists either, because reality ceases to exist.

"Francis Bacon knew that in order to command nature, one must act according to its rules and identity. The statement Reality is Absolute is the explicit recognition of the primacy of existence. This means that reality is not subject to wishes, whims, prayers, or miracles. If you want to change the world, you must act according to reality. Nothing else will affect reality. If you evade this fact, your actions will most likely not have their desired effects. Your failure will be metaphysical justice.
The primacy of existence states the irrefutable truth that existence is primary and consciousness is secondary. Consciousness is the faculty which perceives and identifies existents (things that exists). For two reasons we say that existence is primary, that consciousness requires existence, and that there is no consciousness without existence.
Because consciousness identifies existents, there can be no consciousness without something existing to perceive. Nothing can have an identity (to be identified) without existing. The fact that something is identified necessarily implies its existence which necessarily implies existence in general. Thus there is no consciousness without existence."
Reality Is Absolute: The Primacy of Existence
by Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands

That's some good logic.  Unfortunately, physics, the purest of the sciences, says that things only exist when they have been observed to exist.  Prior to that observation, existence is unknown.  Maybe said object existed, maybe it didn't.  There's no way to know.

"Quantum mechanics has been one of the most successful theories in science and is believed by many to underlie all known natural phenomena. More than eighty years after its discovery, however, a complete understanding of the theory's 'physical principles' and implications still eludes us. Many believe that quantum physics poses a serious challenge to philosophical ideas such as determinism, reductionism, and local realism and that it presents us with a radically new vision of reality."
Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality
John Templeton Foundation

Which brings me back to a point I've made before in this blog, that no one really knows what they're talking about.  Expert politicians don't know a thing about governing, expert scientists don't know a thing about reality, expert philosophers don't know a thing about science, expert doctors don't know a thing about healing, and expert experts like myself don't know a thing about anything.

"For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
- 1 Corinthians 13: 9-12

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.  'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"
 - Isaiah 55: 8-9

This article touches on most recent beekeeping news topics.

"The more scientists find out about how life's rich tapestry works-and that each critter has such a crucial role to play-the more we are convinced that all life forms share a number of similarities. It's truly uncanny.
Take, for example, humans and honeybees: we are quite similar in a number of ways. We both share addiction and rage management issues. Bees and humans just can't seem to get enough caffeine, nicotine or cocaine; once we start, the euphoric 'give-me-more' insatiable gene dominates our habits.
It also turns out that both angry humans (mostly males) and worker honeybees (exclusively females) head-butt one another. In the case of the honeybees, when the hive is under attack bees stop their sexy waggle dance for a tenth of a second and vibrate 380 times a second. Vibrations are accompanied by head-butting fellow workers, which we now know conveys that the hive is under siege.
Over the past four years a quarter of a trillion honeybees have died prematurely on our home-planet Earth. Clearly something is terribly wrong here.
In so many different ways the bees are acting as nature's canaries in coalmines. Of the 100 crop species providing 90 percent of the world's food, about 74 percent are pollinated by bees. The bees are the first critters to touch and help make our food, and they are getting sick around the globe. As a matter of fact, in March 2011 the United Nations issued a warning that mass bee deaths signal the writing on the wall for global food security."

The Incomparable Honeybee
Reese Halter

    The hive has been a-buzzing the past few days.  It's been nothing but excitement and apparent chaos.
    It started two days ago.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with no clouds in the sky and no wind to speak of.  About mid-afternoon, all the scouts left the house.  Then the Queen and Her Court, along with most of the elder bees who had been gorging on honey all morning as if they thought the house was burning down and they had to save the honey, they all congregated at the front porch.  The next thing you know, they're gone, with the Queen right in the middle of the swarm.
    The hive was in chaos for the next few hours.  Where had they gone?  Would they be coming back?  Who was in charge now?
    By nightfall, we assumed that the departed bees, along with the Queen, would not be returning.  Some brave young bees volunteered to be scouts, and late in the afternoon they left and found our old hive-mates.  They were high up in an old tree about 75 yards away.  Apparently, the swarm had no plans on returning, as they had already started setting up shop in their new home.
    That night, all of us young bees that were left had a meeting in the nursery area.  Our numbers had been seriously depleted, but fortunately our food supplies were still good and the crops looked promising.  Our biggest problem was that no one was in charge, we had no queen at the time.  Luckily, two of the three young princesses were about ready to hatch.  The third hadn't developed smartly and was abandoned earlier in the week.
    Some of the older nurse bees volunteered to be foragers, to collect food and water which would keep us alive.  Others volunteered to stay at home and take care of repairs and upkeep, in other words, construction.  Some of the meaner personalities assumed the role of guard bees.  Our volunteer scouts from earlier in the day were given the job permanently.  The rest of us, the youngest of the young, kept our jobs as nurse bees/housekeepers.
    I was naturally disappointed by this, for I longed to be a forager.  But, as I was primarily responsible for the care of what could be our new queen, I was told to stay on with her.  If she did emerge as the new queen, I would be one member of Her Court, an honor in itself.

    We wouldn't have long to wait, fortunately.  This morning, both of the young princesses emerged from their cells within minutes of each other.  They quickly found one another out.  If you know anything about royalty, you know that one house isn't big enough for the egos of two queens.  Conflicts are inevitable, and sure enough, the two potential queens had at it right off the bat.
    The rest of us bees stayed out of the way as the contestants battled.  I was partial towards Brandi, I had practically raised her after all and would be in Her Court if she won, but if she lost I'd have a chance of becoming a forager very soon.
    After a nearly fatal blow by the opponent, which Brandi deftly evaded using her still tender wings, I knew that the foraging job could wait.  I cared for Brandi too deeply and feared for her safety.  Those of us in her potential court cheered even more enthusiastically, and I prayed that she would quickly finish the battle and win her throne.
    A fake to the left, a jab to the right, and the next thing you know, the fight is over.  Brandi withdrew her weapon from her dying victim after she delivered the finishing blow.  She was no Muhammad Ali, but she could "float like a butterfly" and "sting like a bee."
    Those of us in Brandi's Court rushed to her side.  She was a bit shaken, fighting for one's life right after emerging into the world can have that effect, but we were quick to comfort her and offer her some food and water.
    The young queen had very little time to savor her victory, however.  There was much to be done in our chaotic little house in order to return things to normal and ensure our survival.  Our Queen had to learn her way around the hive and prepare for a crucial mating flight that would make or break her claim to the throne.
    As a member of the Queen's Court, it was my job to feed and care for the queen, as well as orient her to her new home.  We also served as a liaison between the queen and the rest of the colony, protected her from outside enemies, and, in general, just helped her however we could.

    We anxiously waited on the front porch as Brandi darted through the air.  She was on a practice flight, preparing for her big day.  Betty, who was currently employed as a house bee, cleaning up house that is, had just come out to dump some garbage.
    "How's she looking today, Billie?" she questioned.
    "Oh, she's doing just fine.  As soon as some nice weather comes along, she'll be ready to mate."
    "I hope it's soon.  The nursery is getting pretty quiet."
    That was true.  We'd had no new babies since the old queen left.  The nursery was empty, and the nurse bees were getting restless.  There were even talks of a strike.  Some bees were doubting the new queen's claim to the throne.  Things needed to improve quickly.
    Just then, Brandi returned from her orientation flight.  She looked breathless but excited.
    "How'd it go, Your Majesty?" I asked.
    "It's just wonderful!  I can't wait to meet some of those drones.  There was a nice looking bunch hanging out by the oak tree over there.  They whistled when I passed, but I just ignored them."
    "It won't be long now, Your Highness.  I only suggest that you use discretion when choosing a mate.  Some of those drones are just no good."
    "Yes, yes, I know.  Only the fittest and fastest for me.  Come now, after all that exercise, I'm quite hungry.  Let's go in and get something to eat."
    "Very well.  You there, bring the queen some honey.  And you, fetch some water."
   

At what point does technology go from "useless" to "dangerous"?  I don't know, but I think that point is somewhere in the past.

"Scientists at Harvard have perfected a new method for mass-manufacturing tiny 'micro robots', starting with the Mobee, a robotic bee that's no bigger than a one cent coin.  The scientists say 'dozens' of bees — which also go by the disconcertingly cute name of Mobee — will fit on a single sheet, making the production of thousands seem frighteningly easy, and that the breakthrough could lead to rapid advancement in Harvard’s 'RoboBees' project.
Here, teams of 'co-ordinated agile robotic insects' could be used for tasks such as examining weather patterns, monitoring traffic and more worryingly, surveillance."

Watch out, the Monolithic Bees are coming to get us
February 17, 2012 By Andy Boxall

Zombies and vampires seem to be all the rage these days.  Even honeybees are getting in on the act.

"A fly parasite is being blamed for an epidemic that has struck the honey bee population around the world. The parasite nests in the stomach of the bees and causes them to walk in circles, sometimes pursuing bright lights, before eventually dying. The Parasitic Phorid Fly Apocephalus borealis is responsible for the zombie transformation, laying its eggs inside the abdomen of the honey bee.
'When we observed the bees for some time, the ones that were alive, we found that they walked around in circles, often with no sense of direction,' said San Francisco State University's Andrew Core lead author on the bee parasite study in the journal Plos One.
Bees usually just sit in one place, sometimes curling up before they die, said Core. But the parasitised bees were still alive, unable to stand up on their legs.
'They kept stretching them out and then falling over,' he said. 'It really painted a picture of something like a zombie.'"

Parasite turns honey bees into zombies
By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow – Wed, Jan 4, 2012

Not here in the U.S.  This particular failure is in the EU, a giant failure in and of itself.

"It appears that honey is not as pure as man has thought for the last few thousand years.  Well, not according to the EU. They have decided that pollen is not a constituent part of honey but an ingredient and therefore must be mentioned as such on the list of ingredients on the label.
The problem has arisen because pollen, being collected by bees along with the nectar to make honey, is taken back to the hive and tiny amounts are always present in the honey. (This is the precise reason that people with allergies eat local honey, the small amounts of pollen in the honey help them build a natural tolerance). But recently a German beekeeper sued the State of Bavaria because their test fields of GM Maize had damaged his honey crop. This resulted in a ruling by the ECJ that pollen is an ingredient, a ruling which can’t be appealed."

EU Orders Pollen Warning on Honey

Yes, but what does it mean?

The popular theory:
"How a worker communicates the location of a pollen and nectar source to other workers in the hive may be the most incredible and complex form of social behavior existing outside of the human race.
Upon her return to the hive with pollen and nectar, the worker bee performs an elaborate dance on the vertical surface of a comb. If the source is relatively distant from the hive (as it generally is), the dance takes the form of a figure-eight. The forager waggles her body from side to side as she moves forward in a straight line, then circles to the right, back to her starting point, waggles ahead again, and then circles to the left. This dance pattern is repeated a number of times. The angle of the straight run, or 'waggle,' from vertical is equal to the angle from the hive between the sun and the nectar/pollen source. If the flowers are located 45 degrees to the right of the sun, the dance will be oriented 45 degrees to right of vertical. The distance of the straight waggle run is proportional to the distance from the hive to the source. Details of this behavior can be found in many books, including an excellent discussion in Gould and Gould (1988), an easily read and comprehensive reference on the honeybee."

The Honeybee Waggle Dance:
An Active Participation, Role Playing Game
Daniel A. Herms

And the alternative theory:
"The traditional interpretation of the bee dance is destroyed categorically by the observation of one single factor: The human observer observes from above. The bee dances face to face on a lateral plane. What the bee perceives and what the human perceives are two entirely different things. I grant that the dance occurs. I do not grant that it communicates anything at all. It is a sharing of excitement. The knowledge of where the nectar or whatever is is deeper than that. The colony is a manifestation of generations integrated with the patterns of the environment. There is a great mind at play that humans are generally incapable of comprehending."

Principles of Beekeeping Backwards
Bee Culture – July, 2001
Charles Martin Simon

“If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years left to live.” Albert Einstein

The connection between the bee race and the human race continues to deepen.

"Beekeepers see their bees as the canaries in the coal mine. All living beings are exposed to the cocktail of pesticides and other chemicals in our midst, each in sub-lethal doses but all mixing together and interacting in our bodies. Many Americans, like bees used to pollinate monocultures, do not eat very healthy or nutritious diets, and our stressful and sedentary lifestyles put us at even more risk of succumbing to illness. Are the bees giving us a message we should be heeding?
The decline of bees has been in the headlines for several years, and theories to explain their deaths abound. But perhaps there is not just one single cause. University of California San Diego professor of biology James Nieh studies foraging, communication and health of bees. 'I would say it's a combination of four factors; pesticides, disease, parasites, and human mismanagement,' says Nieh. Bees might be weakened by having a very low level of exposure to insecticides or fungicides, making them more susceptible if they are attacked by viruses or parasites. 'It's kind of like taking a patient who is not doing so well -- very weak, poor diet, exposing them to pathogens, and then throwing more things at them. It's not surprising that honeybees are not very healthy.'"

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine? Why Massive Bee Dieoffs May Be a Warning About Our Own Health
By Jill Richardson