Wow, Did You Know
There is a Bee Dance!
And More Than One!

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A bee dance, also referred to as a waggle dance, is an ingenious method of communication for honey bees.

By performing this dance on the honeycomb, worker bees in the colonies are able to organize their travel plans and enjoy the best local food sources.

Scout bees are those who are responsible for foraging for food. Once a suitable source is located, scouts return to the hive with a sample of nectar for others in the colony to rate.

If the nectar is of suitable quality, the scout bees will then perform the waggle dance to notify the rest of the colony.

It is at this point that worker bees responsible for collecting food from flowers are able to most effectively do so.

From studying these dances, scientists have discovered that it is very precise in the information it provides.

For instance, a waggle dance involves two distinct phases. In the first, the bee will use its body to trace a figure-eight pattern. This is known as a waggle run or a waggle phase.

Next, the bee will make a right turn and circle back to the point where it began, which is called the return phase since it is essentially returning to its starting point.

Then it will engage in another waggle run, which is then followed by a turn and a circle that traces to the left.

This intricate pattern uses the sun's position to guide other bees to the food source by telling them how many degrees to the left or right of the sun the food is or if it can be found in direct alignment with the sun.

As the sun moves, the dance is adjusted accordingly. (Please see photo above courtesy of Public Library of Science).

The distance between the hive and the food source is also encoded in the dance.

If the source is far from the hive, the dance lasts longer. The dance is measured at an approximate rate of 328 feet per 75 milliseconds.

In this way, before ever leaving the hive, honey bees know exactly how far they will be travelling to their new food source thanks to precise calculations offered in the bee dance.

Really clever are honey bees! Because of their amazing little dances we can continue to enjoy the benefits of eating honey.

The waggle dance isn't the only bee dance that can be observed in a colony, however.

Bees also perform what is known as a tremble dance when more workers need to be recruited and a grooming dance, which is commonly performed by bees that hail from a colony that has been affected by a mite infestation.

Those that have also been dusted with chalk dust also perform this type of bee dance. However, the waggle dance is among the most useful to all bee colonies and is the most observable bee dance regularly performed.

Contrary to what some believe honey bees are not aggressive and do not randomly sting.

When they do sting it is because a person is in their flight path. Having the responsibility of carrying specific flight instructions to the hive and returning to their food source from those instructions.

It is then understandable why bees prefer to sting and remove humans from their path rather than deviate from it.

With the entire colony depending on a strict communication and following of the bee dance for food, it is of the gravest importance that bees are allowed to travel their paths without interruption.

From Bee Dance to Honey Bees

Would you like to read the Adventure of Emma the Honey Bee at her 1st Dance Lesson?

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