Honey
Bees have two dances they perform depending on how far away the food source
is located.
Round
Dance: when the food source is close, the bee that found the food flies back
to the hive and performs a circular dance to tell the other workers
that there is food nearby. A sample of the food is held in the mouth
so that the other bees know what type of food it is and so they know
when they have found the food source.
Waggle
Dance: when the food source is far, the
bee that found the food flies back to the hive and performs a figure-eight
dance that indicates the precise direction and distance to the food
source. The distance is indicated by how much time it takes to
do one circuit of the dance. The direction is indicated by the direction
of the waggle part of the dance (see 1 & 5 in the figure). If the
bee waggles upward (like the dance here), then the food source is located
in the direction of the sun. If the bee waggles 45 degrees to the right
of up, then the food source is 45 degrees to the right of the sun, etc.
the
bee that found the food flies back to the hive and performs a figure-eight
dance that indicates the precise direction and distance to the food
source. The distance is indicated by how much time it takes to
do one circuit of the dance. The direction is indicated by the direction
of the waggle part of the dance (see 1 & 5 in the figure). If the
bee waggles upward (like the dance here), then the food source is located
in the direction of the sun. If the bee waggles 45 degrees to the right
of up, then the food source is 45 degrees to the right of the sun, etc.