Did you know that honey bees dance to share information with the rest of their colony? Bees use different types of dances to let other bees know where to find nectar ( their food source ).
What is a waggle dance?
Bees dance in a figure of eight and wag their tail in the middle of the movement. The further away the food source the more waggles in the dance. The direction of movement and orientation of the figure eight also give information to other bees.
The faster the bee dances the closer the nectar!
Round dance
The round dance ( when bees dance in a circle ) means nectar is close by.
Shiver dance
Bees dance like they are shivering to tell other bees about a good location for a nest.
Create your own waggle dance
Design your own waggle dance using different movements to tell a friend whether food ( or an object ) is close or far away.
Can your friend understand the instructions?
Extension task
Find a way to communicate other things, such as the weather or hazards that may be encountered on a journey.
Bee Facts for Kids
Did you know honeybees steal honey from other hives?
A queen honeybee can live for up to FIVE years.
Honeybees have a separate stomach just for nectar which it then transferred to the honey making bees in the hive! The other stomach holds the nectar the bees use for food.
The queen bee is usually the mother of ALL the bees in the hive.
Female honeybees have little sacs on their legs for carrying pollen.
Honeybees visit 2 million flowers to make 500g of honey!
Bees suck nectar through a long tube called a proboscis.
A male bee is called a drone, these only live for a few weeks and don’t have stingers. They also don’t collect nectar or pollen.
Did you know bees are in danger from climate change and human activities? Find out how you can help save the bees with my fun bee worksheets!
Last Updated on August 11, 2022 by Emma Vanstone
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