What's the Buzz? by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

Author:Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2015-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

BEE FACT: There is a tradition in Europe and the United Kingdom called “telling the bees.” When a beekeeper dies, the bees must be told, as it was believed that otherwise they too would decline and die. In the past, bees were also told about births and weddings, and about public news, like the coronation of a new king.

To make a “bee beard,” the beekeeper puts a queen and some young bees on a calm volunteer. DEB ALPERIN/GETTYIMAGES.COM

Dancing bees

How do honey bees tell each other about things like a new home? How do they find the flowers they need to visit for gathering nectar and pollen? They talk to each other—not with words but by dancing!

When a foraging honey bee has found a good source of nectar or pollen, she flies back to the hive and performs a dance on one of the combs near the entrance. The pattern of the dance tells the other bees the exact direction and distance of the flowers. The two best-known dances are the circle dance and the waggle dance.

If the bee has found a source of food close to the hive, she walks quickly in small circles, reversing her direction after each circle or two and stopping every few seconds to pass nectar to the other bees that are gathered around. This is the circle dance.

If the bee has found food farther away from the hive, she does the more complicated waggle dance. She moves in a figure eight, moving her body from side to side and “waggling” her abdomen, telling the bees about the exact direction, distance and quality of the food.

The bees use other dances as well, vibrating their bodies and walking in a specific pattern to communicate about things like swarming.

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