We have all seen bees flying out to gather food but how do they know where to go to find the richest pickings? Once the scout bees have discovered a good source of forage they will return to the hive a tell their sisters where to go to find food. Most people have heard of the waggle dance but there are others as well.
Originally translated by the Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch the waggle dance is one of the wonders of the insect world.
When bees are flying from the hive as in the picture below it may look like chaos but each one is flying the most effective route to achieve their objective.
Bees Flying Out To Find Forage
In order to know where to go the scout bees will have returned to the hive and communicated their findings to their sisters using interpretive dance.
The waggle dance is not the only dance performed by honey bees. There are a series of dances based on the distance of the forage from the hive.
The Round Dance
If food is really close to the hive (usually up to ten yards) bees will use the round dance.
She will give some clues in that she will also make a sound. This sound is picked up by the antenna of the listening bee and gives an idea of distance and direction.
The Round Dance
Borage Right Next To The Hives
The Interim or Transition Dance
The full waggle dance does not start until the forage is more than 40 yards from the hive. For distances between 10 and 40 yards bees use an interim or sickle dance.
The Interim Or Transition Dance
Once again it is not just the type of dance performed but the noise the bee makes that gives the foragers distance and direction.
The Waggle Dance
Forage that is close to the hive is relatively easy for the bees to find but once the distance is in excess of 40 yards and as much as 3 miles it becomes increasingly difficult to find. It is at this point that the full waggle dance comes into play.
The Waggle Dance
Here the bee dances on the comb at an angle to the vertical. Straight up on the comb represents the angle of the sun and so the line across the centre of the dance shows the angle to the sun that the bees must fly to find the forage. As the sun appears to move through the sky the bees have the ability to adjust the angle over time.
The straight run across the centre of the dance no only indicates direction but, together with the number of circuits and the length of the run gives distance to the forage. The enthusiasm with which she dances and vigorously waggles her abdomen tells her sisters about the quality of the food source. She also brings a sample of what she has discovered.
So now you know how it works let’s take our partners for the waggle dance.
If you want to know more and see bees dancing then please visit our YouTube video at https://youtu.be/fru3ze_pOFg
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