Dance of Honey Bee
Dance of Honey Bee A Report byMr. Allah Dad Khan
Dance of Honey Bee
When Was It Discovered?The honey bee dance was first decoded by
Austrian ethologistKarl von Frisch in 1967.Since then, more
information and research has been undertaken into understanding the
dance of honey bees and how the colony members communicate with
each other, and the reactions of different colony members to the
dance
TheoriesThere are two major theories on how honey bee foragers
communicate with other workers about a new food source: the honey
bee dance and the odor plume. Although there is evidence to support
each claim, the honey bee dance is more widely accepted. The dance
language combines dancing and odor as a bees means of
communication, while the odor plume theory claims that honey bee
recruitment relies solely on floral odor. The honey bee dance plays
an important role in the survival of the species: it has been a
part of colonies for years and has remained one of the most
important methods used in foraging for food.
DanceThe honey bee dance is a way for bees to communicate with
one another. A honey bee that discovers a new food source will tell
other honey bees about its location through the honey bee dance.
When a worker bee returns from an abundant food source, she will
dance inside their nest in a circle.
Types of Honey Bee DancesThere are two main types of honey bee
dances: round dance and waggle dance. Round dance, as the name
indicates, is a movement in a circle. This is used to indicate the
food source is less than 50 meters from the nest. Waggle dance is a
figure eight pattern while the bee waggles its abdomen and is used
for food located at a distance of more than 150 meters. Exact
distance can be communicated by duration of the dance. A longer
dance indicates a great distance.
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Relationship between the angle of the dance on the vertical comb
and the bearing of the sun with respect to the location of
food.When the food and sun are in the same direction, the straight
portion of the waggle dance is directed upward.When the food is at
some angle to the right (blue) or left (red) of the sun, the bee
orients the straight portion of her dance at the same angle to the
right or left of the vertical.
Waggle dance
Waggle danceis a term used inbeekeepingandethologyfor a
particular figure-eight dance of thehoney bee. By performing this
dance, successful foragers can share, with other members of
thecolony, information about the direction and distance to patches
of flowers yielding nectar and pollen, to water sources, or to new
nest-site locations
Waggle Dance Consists ofA waggle dance consists of one to 100 or
more circuits, each of which consists of two phases: the waggle
phase and the return phase. A worker bee's waggle dance involves
running through a small figure-eight pattern: a waggle run (aka
waggle phase) followed by a turn to the right to circle back to the
starting point (aka return phase), another waggle run, followed by
a turn and circle to the left, and so on in a regular alternation
between right and left turns after waggle runs. air.[4]
The waggle dance includes information about the direction and
energy required to fly to the goal. Energy expenditure (or
distance) is indicated by the length of time it takes to make one
circuit. For example a bee may dance 8-9 circuits in 15 seconds for
a food source 200 meters away, 4-5 for a food source 1000 meters
away, and 3 circuits in 15 seconds for a food source 2000 meters
away.
Direction of the food source is indicated by the direction the
dancer faces during the straight portion of the dance when the bee
is waggling. If she waggles while facing straight upward, than the
food source may be found in the direction of the sun.
The Round DanceThe round dance is used for food sources 25-100
meters away from the hive or closer. After distributing some of her
new-found nectar to waiting bees the scout will begin running in a
small circle, switching direction every so often. After the dance
ends food is again distributed at this or some other place on the
comb and the dance may be repeated three or (rarely) more
times.
Photo: Bill Tietjen, Bellarmine University
If she waggles at an angle 60 degrees to the left of upward the
food source may be found 60 degrees to the left of the
sun.Similarly, if the dancer waggles 120 degrees to the right of
upward, the food source may be found 210 degrees to the right of
the sun. The dancer emits sounds during the waggle run that help
the recruits determine direction in the darkness of the hive.
Swarming
Before a new queen emerges, the old queen leaves the hive,
taking many of the workers with her. The swarm usually settles
somewhere, e.g., on a tree branch, while scouts go searching for a
new home
Grooming
Workers have another type of dance rapidly vibrating from side
to side that tells other workers that she needs help removing dust,
pollen, etc. from hard-to-reach places on her body.
Dancing Worker The dancing worker bee also can indicate
direction with the waggle dance and will move in reference to the
suns vertical position. The degrees to the right or left of the
vertical indicate the direction of the food. For example, if the
bees dance is rotated 30 degrees to the vertical then the food will
be found at a 30 degree angle from the nest related to the suns
vertical.
