Waggle Dance
Verhalten der Bienen
A returning forager runs a figure eight on the vertical comb and waggles her abdomen during the straight middle section.
A returning forager runs a figure eight on the vertical comb and waggles her abdomen during the straight middle section. This tells other bees the direction and distance of a nectar source. The direction is encoded in the angle of the waggle run relative to vertical: if it points straight up, the source lies in the direction of the sun. The distance is encoded mainly in the number of waggle movements, with one movement roughly corresponding to 65 to 75 meters of flight distance. Karl von Frisch described this in 1923 and was awarded the Nobel Prize for it in 1973.
A single dance is imprecise. The direction indication scatters by about nine degrees, and only half of the distance indications fall within plus or minus twenty percent. The follower bees compensate by tracking several runs and averaging them. In the dark hive, what counts is not images but vibration, touch, and scent.
Dancing is not only done for nectar but also for water, for resin, and, in a swarm, for a new home. Whether the dance language really achieves as much was disputed for decades; with radar tracking of individual bees, the core of it is now considered confirmed. At the apiary this can be observed on the comb: lively dancing means a good nectar flow.