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
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
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