Honeybees need to communicate for a number of reasons- one in particular is to indicate where the best resource patch (nectar, pollen, resin) is located and how to get there. Seems like a tough feat without GPS, an iPhone or even the human language. Although honeybees have developed their own means of communicating and it’s called the waggle dance. The waggle dance relays two important pieces of information: the direction of the flower patch and how far it is from the hive entrance.
Waggle to resources
The waggle dance is typically performed by a returning forager bee- a honeybee that collects pollen, nectar and resin for the colony. When the honeybee returns from a flight and has just discovered a new patch of resources, she needs to relay her information. But first, she needs an audience. By walking over fellow workers and vibrating her abdomen, she acquires their attention. Once an audience has formed, she begins the much awaited waggle dance.
Distance, Direction, Quality of Resource
The waggle dance is often described as a figure-eight pattern, with a central line through the middle called the "waggle run." During this part of the dance, the female worker bee moves in a straight line while vibrating her abdomen from side to side. After completing the waggle run, she circles back around, repeats the waggle line, and then circles back on the other side to repeat the process. This continues until other worker bees learn the direction and distance of the food source, prompting them to take off and fly toward it.
The waggle run provides vital information about the distance to the food patch. The longer the waggle line, the farther the food is from the hive. The direction of the waggle dance indicates the location of the food source in relation to the sun. Since the honeybee performs the dance on a vertical frame inside the hive, she is aware of which way is up and down. For example, if the bee performs the waggle dance at a 90-degree angle to the right, the other bees know that the food source is located 90 degrees to the right of the sun, along the horizon. If the bee walks straight up the frame, it means the food source is directly toward the sun.
It is incredible how the honeybees have developed the waggle dance as a means of communication and with its complexities, researchers are still discovering its full meaning!