A society of bees is an example of a third order self-referring system.
The society of bees (the honey producing bees) is an example of a third order self-referring system of this kind; it has a circular organization superimposed on the second order self-referring systems that are the bees, which in turn have a circular organization superimposed on the first order living systems that are the cells; all three systems with their domains of interactions are subordinated both to maintenance of themselves and to the maintenance of the others. (BC 12)
This page was last updated on July 11, 1996, by Rob Sable.