Communication in the Worker Honey Bee through Movement: Dances and Signals

The most commonly known form of communication in bees is the waggle dance. It is illustrated on the right. What is less commonly known is that this is also used as a means of selection of new nest site for a swarming colony.

The "round dance" is only a very short waggle dance. Human beings may not be able to pick up the direction but bees can. It does not need to be differentiated as it is just a very short waggle dance.

The second most commonly seen honey bee movement between bees is the shaking signal which used to be known as the dorso-ventral abdominal vibration (DVAV) signal. It is widely accepted as a message meaning: "prepare for greater activity".

The honey bee in the upper left is moving down and using her head to butt against the bee in the centre. Simultaneously, she produces a short pulse of sound which is the stop signal lasting about 150ms at a frequency of c350Hz or more. This can be observed in a few situations. When scouts are looking for a new nest site when swarming they can perform this stop sign to indicate that their proposed location is prefereable. It can also be seen when a superior food site has been found. the message is either, to a forager "Stop what you are suggesting and follow us" or to a house bee it recruits more bees to the colony's nectar processing capacity by recruiting hive bees as additional nectar receivers.

1. Waggle Dance

3. Tremble Dance and 4. Stop Signal

2. Shaking Signal

5. Buzz Run or Buzzing Run and 6. Worker Piping

A bee performing a buzzing run moves quickly about the swarm cluster in great excitement, tracing out a frantic path, buzzing her wings in bursts, bulldozing between idle bees and periodically performing a conspicuous wiggling movement. This running, butting and wiggling activates lethargic bees into action.

The worker piping that can be heard is close to the sound produced in flight with the wing-beat frequency within a buzz ranging from 180 to 250 Hz.

7. Antennation

Bees can be seen to investigate one another by feeling each others antennae. Some times this is seen at the hive entrance and appears to be an investigation by the guard bees as to whether the incoming bee is friend or foe.

Exhausted looking bees can also appear to be begging food or rather antennation may result in one bee extending her probiscus and produce a watery substances, that may be nectar, which is consummed by the receiving bee.