Honeybee (Apis mellifera) fanning wings on honeycomb frame. Fanning is done to cool the hive and, in this case, to pass chemical messages called pheromones from the Nasonov gland located near the tip of its abdomen and which can be seen as a thin white membrane extending from just before the last abdominal tergite, or segment, and which is best seen after the bee turns its abdomen toward camera. By fanning, honeybees are able to waft pheromones to many bees in a short amount of time. Honeybees are among the most social of all insects and have developed remarkable communication methods.