Book 1, Question 32 · Video
Why Do Bees Dance? The Waggle Dance Explained!
Bees can share directions with a dance! When a scout bee finds flowers, she returns to the hive and dances a figure eight. The straight middle part, called the waggle run, shows th
Read the full answer →What Crafty Clover says in this video
Intro
Hi! I'm Crafty Clover! Let's discover something amazing. Why do bees dance?
The Big Idea
Buzz, buzz! Honeybees can't talk, and they can't draw maps. So how do they tell each other where to find flowers? They dance! It's the amazing way bees share directions. Let's see how, in three steps!
Finds Flowers
Step one: a bee finds flowers! A scout bee flies out, and searches for flowers full of nectar and pollen. When she finds a great patch, she zooms home, To tell her sisters the good news!
Waggle Dance
Step two: the waggle dance! Back at the hive, she dances in a figure eight. In the middle, she walks straight, waggling from side to side. That's the waggle run! Then she loops around, again and again.
Angle Shows Direction
Step three: the angle shows the direction! The angle of the waggle run shows which way to fly, compared to the Sun. And the longer she waggles, the farther away the flowers are! The direction of the dance points the way.
A Closer Look
Let's take a closer look at the hive dance. The dancer waggles through the middle of her figure eight. The honeycomb stands up tall, so waggling straight up means, fly toward the Sun! Flowers to the right of the Sun? She tilts her waggle to the right. Her sisters follow along, then fly out to find the flowers!
Quick Facts
Quick facts! A bee's dance can describe food more than a kilometer away! It's dark in the hive, so bees follow the dance by feel. For flowers very close by, bees do a simpler round dance. A scientist won a Nobel Prize for decoding the bee dance!
Think Like a Scientist
Now, think like a scientist! Try this outside! Point your arm toward a tree. Then point toward the Sun. But never look right at the Sun! How does the angle between them help you understand the bee's dance? You just thought like a honeybee!
Outro
So bees dance to share directions, turning the hive into a buzzing map of flowers! Remember, Crafty Clover can be found on Amazon Books, Google Bookstore, and Apple Books. Available for purchase or download! Bye for now!