Why do honey bees dance? | We The Curious

Could you tell your friends where to find food just by dancing? Join Ross Exton of the Live Science Team as he takes a look inside a hive to discover the mysterious behaviour of honey bees.

This video was presented by: Ross Exton, Live Science Video Producer
Produced by: Ross Exton, and Seamus Foley, Big Screen Producer.

We The Curious is an idea and a place for everyone. We’re all about asking questions, being playful and testing things out. An educational charity that removes boundaries around science - connecting art, people, everything, in a united culture of curiosity.

Music courtesy of: Amostra III - Bee's Lullaby

[rogerandmegh]

How do the bees receive the info in the waggle dance? Through sight or vibrations or being close to the dancing bee and feeling? Or some other way?

[DrahqueTwitch]

PLEASE answer this question. Yesterday night, there were 3 bees swarming around my light in my living room, I got tired of them and closed the light in hope they would fly out the window again. Guess what, something reallyyyy weirded happened. They went on the floor, lying on THEIR back, dancing and swirling, as if they a turtle or beetle. Do anyone have an explanation to this? Are they confused of no sun? blinded by the sun? somehow paralyzed? or what happened? It must be something, since it happened to 3 of them. Also, typically you find dead bees on the floor next day, so something must happen!

[richardanthonygilbey]

It’s a flying radio that doesn’t do anything unless the queen says so.
Two exceptions
A squashed bee, guard bee kick will release a pheromone initiating an attack without royal approval
The waggle dance, if the food is right of the hive the bee will try to brush its right legs across the face of other bees to head that direction
Those bees will head that direction
Finding the food they return to the hive
The queen likes the delivery she squawks immediately the magnetic location of the food the worker has stored . Many bees will travel to that exact spot on their magnetic map of the hive area. They get this map every 30 mins because of the reciprocating volcanic cycle pulsing magnetic energy. Flat areas appear dark. Mountains appear lighter. Giving every bee a topographical map.
It’s important to remember the queen can talk every other bee can only receive or be read

[wendygodin]

Of course. The bees are female. They know how to ask for directions. LOL