ENVS 2210 Final Exam Questions with
Complete Rationales 2026-2027 Update.
Describe how honeybees exhibit group decision making (self-organized behaviour) - Answer -
part of the attraction of humans to honeybees is due to their well-coordinated social actions in
the absence of 'leaders':
-comb-building: worker bees construct nearly perfect hexagonal combs (of two sizes-worker and
drone) that have no wasted space and that use the lowest amount of beeswax to achieve the
strongest structure
-temperature regulation: individual bees become inactive when their body temperature falls to
+11C; at the upper limit, they die at >49C; honey bee colonies can regulate the internal nest
temperature between 25 and 35C over a temperature range of -40 to 70C
-nest defence: Apis cerana workers cooperate to cook the wasps to death by balling wasp, then
contracting their flight muscles to generate heat
-recruitment to food- through 'waggle dances'
Describe honey bee recruitment to food - Answer -recruitment: the act of bringing nest mates
to a point in space where they are needed for food collection, nest defence, etc
-honey bees recruit nest mates to resources (flowers, water, and new nest cavities) by
performing ritualized movements (round and waggle dances)
-waggle dances are so complex they are referred to as a 'dance language'
-it is called 'language' because bees convey information gained outside the nest to their nest
mates through ritualized movements inside the nest (a different place) at a later time
1) What happens for food at a distance of >100m?
2) What is the information believed to be conveyed to nest mates during waggle dance? -
Answer 1) waggle dance
-bee makes straight run during which it waggles its abdomen and vibrates (buzzes) its wings
-bee then circles around, then repeats straight run, then circles in opposite direction, then
straight run, etc
-same type of dance (waggle dance) is used by scout bees in a swarm to inform nest mates
about the locations of potential nesting cavities
2) -distance to food: duration of wagging (and buzzing) is correlated with distance (longer
waggle=greater distance);bees perceive optical flow (information that passes their compound
eyes) on their outbound flight to food and translate that into 'distance' of food from the nest;
only recently discovered that honeybees do not measure energy consumption
-direction to food: angle of straight run on the vertical comb with respect to gravity (straight up
on comb)=angle of direction of the food with respect to the angular position (compass heading)
of the sun; different reference points outside nest (sun's angular position in sky) and inside the
nest (opposite the pull of gravity)
,-food quality: (from dance vigour, number of dance repetitions, and nectar samples shared with
other bees)
-odour of food picked up from the flower and on the surface of its body
1) Describe how the sun, the bee's external reference point, changes its position during the day
2) Describe an example of how bees adjust their dances constantly - Answer 1) -honeybees
have a sun-compass: honeybee can maintain a constant compass heading throughout the day
by integrating the sun's movement with their internal clock
-in northern hemisphere, sun rises in east; it is to the south at noon; sets in the west; bees learn
this movement pattern of the sun as they begin to leave the nest
-they adjust dances constantly
2) -food is to the east of the colony
-early AM: waggle run is directed straight up on comb (up indicates directly towards the sun)
-at noon, waggling forager runs to the left on comb (90degrees counterclockwise from a line
pointed straight up)
-late in day, waggle run is directed down on the comb (bee is flying away from the sun)
1) Why might bees be different colours in a colony?
2) What is honey largely composed of?
3) What temp does brood need to be kept at to stay warm? What happens to energy demands?
- Answer 1) queen might mate with drones of different colours, so their offspring would share
the colours of their fathers
-ie grey drones will have grey offspring (so different colours just indicates different fathers of
those two bees)
2) carbs
3) 35C- they go up
1) How do bees recognize certain species of wasp?
2) How do bees kill wasps?
3) How do ants and stingless bees follow each other? - Answer 1) by their odor or their flying
2) asphyxiate them in bee ball or cook them (lethal temp for wasp is 37C, but for bee is 40C)
3) ants: follow odour trails
stingless bees: mark objects along flight path to food
1) The complexity of honeybee dances exceeds that of what?
2) It is dark in the bee hives; how do bees sense the dances occurring?
3) When is a round dance performed? - Answer 1) most vertebrates, including most primates
(monkeys and great apes)
,2) -bees pick up vibrations of comb; dancing bee sends off vibrations of wing muscles, and
shakes abdomen at certain angles
3) when food is very close to the nest
1) What does the 'straight run' of dance indicate?
2) For the waggle dance, what does 1 sec represent? - Answer 1) duration of run (duration of
buzzes also involved)
2) 1km approx
Describe social bees - Answer -world total: ~20,000 species of bees (~10% (~2000 species) are
highly social
-bumblebees (big fuzzy yellow and black bees in Canada) are social, but queens start new nests
every spring on their own
-stingless bees: ~280 species throughout the tropics: most in South America; others in Africa,
Asia, Australia
-diversified in the absence of the honey bee (A. mellifera not native to Americas)
-variable colony size: 50 bees-->100,000+ bees
-defend nest by biting; sticking resin in nose and eyes of intruders; some species secrete acid
that burns skin
-primary pre-columbian source of honey in South America and Australia
-honey is stored in special wax pots, separated from brood
-honey bees in genus Apis- native to Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia)
-scientists agree that all honeybees shared a common ancestor about 30 million years ago
-since then, they have differentiated into 9-11 species and many races
What is a species? - Answer -'a group of interbreeding individuals of common ancestry that
are reproductively isolated from all other such groups'
-'members of a population that form a reproductively isolated, independent evolutionary unit'
-both definitions stress reproductively isolation
-most 'species' hybridize at low frequency with other species--so there is usually low-level
mixing of genes from different populations
-within any population of honeybees (Apis), their mating system results in a very high degree of
genetic mixing
-population divergence in Apis requires strong isolation (e.g. gaps of water, mountains, etc)
1) Describe the Apis species
2) What makes these different species?
, 3) What allows those differences to evolve? - Answer 1) -before 1980, only 4 species of Apis
were recognized
-2 open-nesting species: dwarf honey bee (A. florea) and Giant honey bee (Apis dorsata), both
in Asia
-2 cavity nesting: A mellifera (Europe and Africa) and A. cerana (Asia)
-now recognize 8+ species of honeybees (Apis)
-A.florea, A. dorasata, and A. cerana co-exist over much of Asia, never interbreed
-when cerana queen is inseminated with mellifera sperm, no offspring result
-male genitalia are extremely different
-for some of the more recently recognized species, the differences between sister species are
less
2) -morphologically they differ in size and shapes of structures; (usually) differ in genitalic
structures; nests differ
-they differ genetically
3) -lack of gene flow: geographical barriers
1) What is the most common giant honey bee in Asia?
2) Are giant honey bees typically high or low in trees?
3) Can you retrieve honey in moonlight? - Answer 1) Apis dorsata
2) high
3) No- bees forage by moonlight. Only time they do not forage is at night, with no moon
Describe Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection - Answer -more offspring
are produced than can survive
-individuals differ from each other
-natural selection: those individuals better adapted to conditions have higher survival and/or
reproduction and have more offspring than less fit individuals
-over time, a population (many individuals/colonies) share the traits of these more fit
individuals
-once two populations diverge successfully such that they no longer interbreed successfully,
they are recognized as different species
What is the critical component of speciation? - Answer -reproductive isolation and a lack of
gene flow between populations
-without reproductive isolation, gene flow will act to eliminate the effects of natural selection
Describe Alfred Russell Wallace's independent thoughts from Darwin's concept for speciation -
Answer -spent 7 years travelling in Southeast Asia
Complete Rationales 2026-2027 Update.
Describe how honeybees exhibit group decision making (self-organized behaviour) - Answer -
part of the attraction of humans to honeybees is due to their well-coordinated social actions in
the absence of 'leaders':
-comb-building: worker bees construct nearly perfect hexagonal combs (of two sizes-worker and
drone) that have no wasted space and that use the lowest amount of beeswax to achieve the
strongest structure
-temperature regulation: individual bees become inactive when their body temperature falls to
+11C; at the upper limit, they die at >49C; honey bee colonies can regulate the internal nest
temperature between 25 and 35C over a temperature range of -40 to 70C
-nest defence: Apis cerana workers cooperate to cook the wasps to death by balling wasp, then
contracting their flight muscles to generate heat
-recruitment to food- through 'waggle dances'
Describe honey bee recruitment to food - Answer -recruitment: the act of bringing nest mates
to a point in space where they are needed for food collection, nest defence, etc
-honey bees recruit nest mates to resources (flowers, water, and new nest cavities) by
performing ritualized movements (round and waggle dances)
-waggle dances are so complex they are referred to as a 'dance language'
-it is called 'language' because bees convey information gained outside the nest to their nest
mates through ritualized movements inside the nest (a different place) at a later time
1) What happens for food at a distance of >100m?
2) What is the information believed to be conveyed to nest mates during waggle dance? -
Answer 1) waggle dance
-bee makes straight run during which it waggles its abdomen and vibrates (buzzes) its wings
-bee then circles around, then repeats straight run, then circles in opposite direction, then
straight run, etc
-same type of dance (waggle dance) is used by scout bees in a swarm to inform nest mates
about the locations of potential nesting cavities
2) -distance to food: duration of wagging (and buzzing) is correlated with distance (longer
waggle=greater distance);bees perceive optical flow (information that passes their compound
eyes) on their outbound flight to food and translate that into 'distance' of food from the nest;
only recently discovered that honeybees do not measure energy consumption
-direction to food: angle of straight run on the vertical comb with respect to gravity (straight up
on comb)=angle of direction of the food with respect to the angular position (compass heading)
of the sun; different reference points outside nest (sun's angular position in sky) and inside the
nest (opposite the pull of gravity)
,-food quality: (from dance vigour, number of dance repetitions, and nectar samples shared with
other bees)
-odour of food picked up from the flower and on the surface of its body
1) Describe how the sun, the bee's external reference point, changes its position during the day
2) Describe an example of how bees adjust their dances constantly - Answer 1) -honeybees
have a sun-compass: honeybee can maintain a constant compass heading throughout the day
by integrating the sun's movement with their internal clock
-in northern hemisphere, sun rises in east; it is to the south at noon; sets in the west; bees learn
this movement pattern of the sun as they begin to leave the nest
-they adjust dances constantly
2) -food is to the east of the colony
-early AM: waggle run is directed straight up on comb (up indicates directly towards the sun)
-at noon, waggling forager runs to the left on comb (90degrees counterclockwise from a line
pointed straight up)
-late in day, waggle run is directed down on the comb (bee is flying away from the sun)
1) Why might bees be different colours in a colony?
2) What is honey largely composed of?
3) What temp does brood need to be kept at to stay warm? What happens to energy demands?
- Answer 1) queen might mate with drones of different colours, so their offspring would share
the colours of their fathers
-ie grey drones will have grey offspring (so different colours just indicates different fathers of
those two bees)
2) carbs
3) 35C- they go up
1) How do bees recognize certain species of wasp?
2) How do bees kill wasps?
3) How do ants and stingless bees follow each other? - Answer 1) by their odor or their flying
2) asphyxiate them in bee ball or cook them (lethal temp for wasp is 37C, but for bee is 40C)
3) ants: follow odour trails
stingless bees: mark objects along flight path to food
1) The complexity of honeybee dances exceeds that of what?
2) It is dark in the bee hives; how do bees sense the dances occurring?
3) When is a round dance performed? - Answer 1) most vertebrates, including most primates
(monkeys and great apes)
,2) -bees pick up vibrations of comb; dancing bee sends off vibrations of wing muscles, and
shakes abdomen at certain angles
3) when food is very close to the nest
1) What does the 'straight run' of dance indicate?
2) For the waggle dance, what does 1 sec represent? - Answer 1) duration of run (duration of
buzzes also involved)
2) 1km approx
Describe social bees - Answer -world total: ~20,000 species of bees (~10% (~2000 species) are
highly social
-bumblebees (big fuzzy yellow and black bees in Canada) are social, but queens start new nests
every spring on their own
-stingless bees: ~280 species throughout the tropics: most in South America; others in Africa,
Asia, Australia
-diversified in the absence of the honey bee (A. mellifera not native to Americas)
-variable colony size: 50 bees-->100,000+ bees
-defend nest by biting; sticking resin in nose and eyes of intruders; some species secrete acid
that burns skin
-primary pre-columbian source of honey in South America and Australia
-honey is stored in special wax pots, separated from brood
-honey bees in genus Apis- native to Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia)
-scientists agree that all honeybees shared a common ancestor about 30 million years ago
-since then, they have differentiated into 9-11 species and many races
What is a species? - Answer -'a group of interbreeding individuals of common ancestry that
are reproductively isolated from all other such groups'
-'members of a population that form a reproductively isolated, independent evolutionary unit'
-both definitions stress reproductively isolation
-most 'species' hybridize at low frequency with other species--so there is usually low-level
mixing of genes from different populations
-within any population of honeybees (Apis), their mating system results in a very high degree of
genetic mixing
-population divergence in Apis requires strong isolation (e.g. gaps of water, mountains, etc)
1) Describe the Apis species
2) What makes these different species?
, 3) What allows those differences to evolve? - Answer 1) -before 1980, only 4 species of Apis
were recognized
-2 open-nesting species: dwarf honey bee (A. florea) and Giant honey bee (Apis dorsata), both
in Asia
-2 cavity nesting: A mellifera (Europe and Africa) and A. cerana (Asia)
-now recognize 8+ species of honeybees (Apis)
-A.florea, A. dorasata, and A. cerana co-exist over much of Asia, never interbreed
-when cerana queen is inseminated with mellifera sperm, no offspring result
-male genitalia are extremely different
-for some of the more recently recognized species, the differences between sister species are
less
2) -morphologically they differ in size and shapes of structures; (usually) differ in genitalic
structures; nests differ
-they differ genetically
3) -lack of gene flow: geographical barriers
1) What is the most common giant honey bee in Asia?
2) Are giant honey bees typically high or low in trees?
3) Can you retrieve honey in moonlight? - Answer 1) Apis dorsata
2) high
3) No- bees forage by moonlight. Only time they do not forage is at night, with no moon
Describe Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection - Answer -more offspring
are produced than can survive
-individuals differ from each other
-natural selection: those individuals better adapted to conditions have higher survival and/or
reproduction and have more offspring than less fit individuals
-over time, a population (many individuals/colonies) share the traits of these more fit
individuals
-once two populations diverge successfully such that they no longer interbreed successfully,
they are recognized as different species
What is the critical component of speciation? - Answer -reproductive isolation and a lack of
gene flow between populations
-without reproductive isolation, gene flow will act to eliminate the effects of natural selection
Describe Alfred Russell Wallace's independent thoughts from Darwin's concept for speciation -
Answer -spent 7 years travelling in Southeast Asia
