Bees "dance" to Communicate!

Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) taken from here.

Bees as insects are essential to our ecosystems. They are commonly known to produce honey and beeswax but they also play a major role in pollinating our plants. In fact, they are the world's most important pollinators!

With the help of pollination by bees, we are able to witness biodiversity on earth. They support growth in flowers, trees and various plants which then provide habitats and food resources for various wildlife. This includes crops and fresh produce for us humans.

So how does pollination by bees occur? As bees land on flowers to feed on nectar, pollen grains from these flowers tend to stick to the hair on their bodies. As they fly and visit other flowers, some of these pollen grains get rubbed off. This pollination by bees promotes the fertilisation of flowers.

But do you ever wonder how a colony of bees communicates, especially in informing each other about the best flowers for nectar? Honeybees in particular, may rely on "waggle dance".

The Waggle Dance of the Honeybee, taken from here.

The waggle dance is used by honeybees, to explain the location of flowers, as sources of nectar, that are beyond 40 meters away from their beehives. They use the sun and the horizon as the points of reference. Below is a diagram to explain the waggle dance:

The waggling through the diameter of a circle (1), points to the direction of the flower. The duration of the waggling explains the distance of the flower away from the beehive. While the intensity of waggling explains the quality of the nectar.

In other words, the further away the flowers, the longer the waggling. The better the quality of the nectar, the more intense the waggling will be.

The two semi-circles (2) and (3) explains the path they take to return to the starting point which tends to alternate after every waggling section.

Check out here to read more fun facts regarding bees. 

As fascinating as bees' facts can be, it is unfortunate that the population of bees is in decline and some species are at risk of extinction. Climate change and harmful human activities such as deforestation and pollution are some of the causes which robbed bees of their habitats and food sources. This in turn will result in a reduction of pollination by bees which then will disrupt the ecosystem and biodiversity, limiting the variety in our sources of food.

Check out here to read on many different ways you can help bees to thrive.