How Do Honeybees Dance to Communicate?

When a honeybee finds a great patch of flowers, she runs back to the hive and performs a special waggle dance on the vertical beeswax comb. This dance is like a tiny map drawn in real time. She wiggles her bottom while running forward, then loops around to start again. The direction she faces tells others which way to fly relative to the sun. If she runs straight up, it means fly toward the sun. The speed of her waggle tells them how far away the flowers are. A fast waggle means the food is close, while a slow waggle means it is far. She also shares some nectar and pollen with waiting bees so they know what to look for.

The angle of her dance on the comb matches the angle of the flowers relative to the sun outside. It is like holding a mirror up to the sky.

This method is much faster than just running around shouting "Food!" It allows hundreds of bees to find specific flower patches quickly without guessing.