The Honey Bee Waggle Dance

Most people have heard of the bee waggle dance. It does seem incredible, and there is still controversy about it.

When a honeybee finds a good source of pollen or nectar it has to have a way of communicating this to its sisters. It performs a waggle dance on the face of a comb inside the hive, every so often stopping to share a taste of the pollen or nectar it has found.

The direction of the dance, in relation to the vertical, gives the angle the workers must fly to find the source. The 'energy' and speed of the dance indicates the value of the source.

As I write this it seems unbelievable. I cannot prove the details, but I have seen bees doing this dance often. There's not much bees do just for the fun of it, there must be a reason. See a video of the Bee Waggle Dance on YouTube

If they find a good source of forage they must tell everyone else. The idea of them flying randomly within a 1½ mile radius looking for flowers, seems like a waste of time.

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