Question

Honey bee after discovering the new source of nector / honey can convey the direction

• A. Cannot convey the direction.
• B. By round or tail wagging dance.
• C. By round dance only.
• D. By tail wagging dance only.

Answer 1

The correct option is B By round or tail wagging dance.

The honey bees exhibit 2 types of dance to communicate the location of food - the round dance and the tail-wagging or waggle dance.

The round dance is used for food sources 25-100 meters away from the hive or closer. After distributing some of her new-found nectar to waiting bees the scout will begin running in a small circle, switching direction every so often. The round dance does not give directional information. Bees elicited into foraging after a round dance fly out of the hive in all directions searching for the food source they know must be there.

As the food source becomes more distant the round dance is replaced by the waggle dance. The waggle dance includes information about the direction and energy required to fly to the goal. Hence option B is correct.