The bee dance is a complex symbolic communication method that forager bees use to inform other individuals in the hive about the location and quality of valuable resources (nectar, pollen, water). This system, deciphered by Karl von Frisch, consists of movement sequences that encode the distance, direction, and abundance of a resource. This is one of the cornerstones of behavior in honeybee colonies and coordination.
Von Frisch’s findings and the logic of encoding
Karl von Frisch revolutionized the scientific world by revealing that honeybees use this symbolic language. His observations proved that bees could provide directions based on the sun’s position, using gravity as a reference inside the dark hive. This “encoding” takes place on the vertical honeycombs of the hive. The angle the dancing bee makes relative to gravity (the vertical line) precisely reflects the angle the resource is in relation to the sun. If the bee waggles vertically upwards, it means “fly towards the sun”; if it waggles downwards, it means “fly away from the sun.” This discovery showed just how complex animal communication could be.
Reading the dance’s direction–distance relationship
Other bees monitoring the dance carefully read these codes. Direction is determined by the angle of the dance relative to the vertical axis. For example, if the dance is 30 degrees to the right of the vertical line, the resource is 30 degrees to the right of the sun. Distance is encoded in a completely different way: by the duration of the “waggle” phase of the dance. The longer this waggle lasts, the farther the resource. For example, a waggle phase of a specific duration might indicate the resource is a significant distance away. The bees following the dance receive this information by touch and by feeling the vibrations in the dark, then leave the hive to find the target.
Why do bees dance?
Bees dance to maximize the colony’s survival and efficiency. These complex bee communication mechanisms allow thousands of individuals to focus their efforts on a single, most profitable target. For optimizing behavior in honeybee colonies, the dance is not just a location guide but also a dynamic feedback system that provides information about the quality of the resource. This ensures the colony collects resources in the most efficient way.
Resource quality, competition, and colony efficiency
Not all resources are created equal. When a forager bee finds a nectar source with high sugar concentration (e.g., over 40% or 50%), its dance becomes more energetic and prolonged. This enthusiasm convinces other bees that this source is more valuable than low-quality alternatives. Thus, the colony is directed to the richest food sources in a competitive environment. Communicating resource quality through dance directly increases the colony’s overall energy intake and, therefore, its efficiency. If the resource is weak, the bee either does not dance at all or stops quickly.
Feedback: follower count and dance duration
The bee dance is not a static announcement; it is like a live market. The effectiveness of the dance is adjusted according to the colony’s current needs. Feedback plays a critical role here. A successful forager returning from the source transfers her nectar to receiver bees inside the hive. If this transfer is rapid (e.g., completed within a very short time), it means the colony desperately needs the incoming food or has ample storage space. The forager receives this positive feedback and continues to dance, even attracting more followers. However, if it takes a long time to unload the nectar (perhaps longer than a minute), this is a signal of a bottleneck; a forager shortens her dance duration or stops entirely.
Types of bee dances
Not all bee dances are the same; there are two main types that primarily differ based on the resource’s distance from the hive. Bee communication mechanisms have evolved these two different dance forms to efficiently convey distance. The round dance is used for close resources, while the waggle dance, which contains more information, is used for distant resources.
Round dance (close resources)
When the resource is very close to the hive, generally at a very short distance, the forager performs the round dance. This dance, as its name suggests, consists of the bee running quickly in narrow circles on the comb. There is no distinct waggle phase during this movement. The round dance conveys the message, “Food is very close, right outside, search around!” The direction information is not clear, but the enthusiasm of the dance and the scent (which clings to the bee’s body) are transferred to other bees, encouraging them to search the immediate vicinity.
Waggle dance (distant resources)
If resources are beyond a certain distance (e.g., beyond that short range), the waggle dance comes into play. This is the complex dance studied in detail by Von Frisch, which encodes direction and distance information. The bee traces a “figure-eight” pattern on the comb. On the straight run in the middle of this eight, the bee rapidly shakes its body from side to side. The duration of this waggle phase indicates the distance, and the angle of the straight run relative to gravity indicates the resource’s direction relative to the sun. This dance allows the colony to precisely locate a specific field of flowers kilometers away.
Pheromones in bees
Pheromones are the fundamental chemical signals that ensure the integrity of behavior in honeybee colonies. These complex chemical scents trigger immediate and powerful responses among individuals, maintaining social order, facilitating orientation, and coordinating defense. Each pheromone has a specific task in the colony’s complex social structure.
Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP) – social order
The social heart of the colony beats with the Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP). This is a powerful chemical cocktail secreted from the queen’s mandibular glands, composed of at least five different components. The presence of QMP inhibits the development of ovaries in worker bees, ensuring only the queen reproduces. It also encourages worker bees to gather around the queen (retinue behavior) and ensures the hive’s general harmony, which is fundamental to behavior in honeybee colonies. The absence of QMP is noticed within minutes and causes workers to quickly build emergency cells to raise a new queen.
Nasonov pheromone – scent marking and orientation
The Nasonov pheromone is a “welcome” and “I’m here” scent secreted from a gland at the tip of the worker bee’s abdomen. It is usually released at the hive entrance or over a good source of water or nectar. This pheromone disperses into the air, signaling to other bees, “This way is safe, the hive is here,” or “Valuable resource here.” It is a critical orientation marker that helps foragers find their own hive, especially in crowded apiaries. It also helps swarming bees stay clustered together.
Alarm pheromone (isoamyl acetate) – defense
When the colony faces a threat, defense is coordinated by the alarm pheromone. The main component of this pheromone, which resembles the smell of bananas, is isoamyl acetate, and it is released from the worker bee’s sting gland. When a bee stings, this pheromone is released into the air, alarming other nearby guard bees. This chemical signal encourages aggressive behavior and directs them to the source of the threat. As the concentration of the pheromone increases, so does the intensity of the defensive response; this is a powerful example of how rapid the coordination of behavior in honeybee colonies is.
The sound of the hive: vibroacoustic communication
Bee communication is not limited to dance and chemicals; vibrations and sounds also play a vital role. The hive is filled with vibroacoustic signals transmitted through the combs. Acoustic signals are an important part of regulating behavior in honeybee colonies. These signals serve various functions, from stopping foraging to determining the social status of queen bees. The combs provide an excellent medium for these vibrations to be transmitted efficiently throughout the entire colony.
The stop signal and the cessation of dance
Just like a “stop” command, the stop signal is a clear message given from one bee to another. If a forager bee encounters danger at a resource (e.g., a spider or wasp), it returns to the hive and finds the bee dancing to promote that resource. It approaches the dancer and emits a short, sharp vibration (sometimes accompanied by a slight head-butt). This signal, lasting only a fraction of a second, gives the dancer the message, “Stop dancing, that resource is dangerous!” This immediately prevents the colony from sending more individuals to hazardous areas.
The queen’s “tooting/quacking” sounds and colony status
Communication between queen bees is critical for the colony’s future. When a new, virgin queen emerges from her cell, she emits a high-pitched, repetitive sound known as “tooting” to announce her presence. She broadcasts this sound through the combs. Other rival virgin queens still in their cells respond to this sound from within their cells with a lower, muffled tone called “quacking.” This acoustic duel helps the colony decide whether to swarm or which queen will survive. If the colony is not going to swarm, the first queen to emerge finds the other cells and destroys her rivals.
Ultraviolet vision and light signals
Bees’ perception of the world is fundamentally different from humans’. Their sense of sight, in particular, includes spectrums of light that we cannot perceive. Behavior in honeybee colonies relies heavily on these special visual abilities, especially the ability to see ultraviolet (UV) light and polarized light.
Nectar guides and the role of UV patterns
Many flowers that appear as a single color to the human eye have complex patterns when viewed through a bee’s eye. Bees can see the ultraviolet light spectrum, which is invisible to humans. Flowers take advantage of this by creating UV patterns on their petals called nectar guides. These patterns are often in the shape of lines or “landing strips” pointing toward the nectar and pollen at the center of the flower. By following these guides, the bee reaches the food source much more quickly and efficiently. This is a striking example of co-evolution between the bee and the flower.</p
The celestial compass and polarized light
Bees’ navigation skills do not depend solely on seeing the sun directly. Even when the sky is overcast or the sun is on the horizon, they can find their way with astonishing accuracy. They do this by analyzing the polarized light patterns in the sky. As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, it becomes polarized in a specific pattern. Specialized cells in the upper part of the bees’ compound eyes can detect this polarization pattern. This pattern acts as a “celestial compass,” telling the bee the exact position of the sun (even if it’s behind clouds). This information forms the basis for the directional guidance in the bee dance.
Swarming and the “dance of the homeless bees” in scouting
Swarming is one of the most complex and critical events in the behavior in honeybee colonies cycle; it is the colony’s method of reproduction. The old queen and about half of the colony leave the hive and settle in a temporary location. This “homeless” cluster initiates an extraordinary democratic decision-making process to find a permanent home, and the dance plays a central role in this process as well.
Scout bees and democratic decision-making
When the swarm clusters, a small group of experienced foragers (perhaps 50 to 100 bees) begins searching for new potential nest sites as scout bees. A scout that finds a potential location (e.g., a hollow tree trunk) returns to the cluster and performs a “waggle dance” on its surface. Just like the food dance, this dance encodes the new site’s direction, distance, and, most importantly, its quality (volume, entrance orientation, etc.). Other scouts watch these dances, check out the candidate sites themselves, and if they approve, they also begin dancing for that location. This initiates a “debate” among the candidates.
The “dirty dancers” phenomenon
Not all dances are equally enthusiastic. A scout that finds a perfect nest site dances vigorously and for a long time, while the dance of a bee that found a less ideal spot (perhaps too small or damp) is less enthusiastic. Researchers sometimes refer to these low-quality signals as “dirty dancers”; these dances are shorter and less precise. The colony does not move until the number of bees dancing for one candidate site reaches a specific critical threshold (a quorum). The dancers supporting the best candidate gradually convince the others, the dances for other candidates cease, and eventually, the entire cluster locks onto a single target and flies to its new home.
The effect of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on communication
The modern world presents new environmental factors that pose potential threats to behavior in honeybee colonies and communication. Man-made electromagnetic fields (EMF) can affect the sensitive systems that bees rely on to navigate and communicate. The nature and extent of these effects are an important research topic for bee health.
RF-EMF exposure and orientation disruptions
High-frequency radio waves (RF-EMF) from communication technologies may have negative effects on bees’ navigational abilities. It is believed that bees navigate by sensing the Earth’s magnetic field (magnetoreception). Some studies suggest that intense RF-EMF exposure may disrupt this internal compass system. This can lead to forager bees losing their way, having difficulty returning to their hives, and reduced foraging efficiency, thereby weakening the colony.
Effects of low-frequency fields on behavior/physiology
Low-frequency fields (such as those at certain common frequencies) originating from sources like power lines can also affect bee behaviors. Bees exposed to such fields in laboratory settings have shown increased stress levels, abnormal movements, and even disruptions in the accuracy of the bee dance. It is thought that these fields affect the bees’ physiology and nervous system, reducing the effectiveness of bee communication mechanisms and negatively impacting the colony’s overall health.
