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When a worker bee finds flowers with nectar, how does it tell the other bees what it has found? How does it tell them what the flower is, how far away it is, and in which direction to go?
The way bees communicate this information is one of the most amazing wonders of nature. To begin with, the language of bees is an instinct. It doesn’t have to be learned. When worker bees reach a certain age, they know this language automatically
The bees’ language is a language of smells and dancing. When a bee has discovered nectar or pollen and returns home, it begins to dance. It goes around and around in narrow circles. The dance excites other bees and tells them the dancing bee has discovered nectar or pollen. The other bees can tell from the smell of the returned bee what it has found, so they know from this what to look for
If the bee does a really lively dance, this says that a great deal of food is obtainable, and more bees are excited to go out and seek it. So far then, the bee has been able to communicate several things. |
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The dance says that there is nectar or pollen to be obtained. The scent on the bee itself tells what kind of flower should be looked for, and whether it’s for nectar or pollen. The liveliness of the dance tells about the amount of food.
But all this applies only to flowers within about a hundred yards from the hive. When a bee finds flowers with food farther away, it comes home and performs another kind of dance. This time, instead of doing a round dance, it does a tail dance. It does a figure 8, connecting the two loops of the 8 with a straight line, meanwhile moving abdomen or “tail” from side to side.
In addition to all the other information, the tail dance tells the bees how far to go and in which direction to fly! The number of turns per minute indicate distance. The farther away, the fewer the figures 8 made. For instance, 11 turns per minute mean 2,700 meters distance! The line a bee makes between the two loops of the 8 give the exact direction of the flowers. It makes this line in relation to the position of the sun in the sky so the others can set off at the correct angle instantly!
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