Thomas Dyer Seeley

A leading sociobiologist using the honey bee colony as a model system for investigating functional organization at the group level, thereby deepening our understanding of one of the major transitions in evolution (from organism to superorganism). His pioneering discoveries include the important distinction between signals and cues as means of information flow within groups, the fundamental similarity between vertebrate brains and honey bee swarms in the way noisy information is processed to make decisions, and deciphering several key signals that underlie the functional integration of honey bee colonies.   Empirical studies are complemented by outstanding reviews and syntheses, the most notable of which are his books, Honeybee Ecology (1985, Princeton University Press), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995, Harvard University Press.) and Honeybee Democracy (2010, Princeton University Press).   He has also made important contributions in the area of honey bee conservation, by revealing how differently wild and domesticated honey bee colonies live, and how these differences are causing many of the health problems faced by humanity's most important pollinator.