On Communication of Distance to the Food Source by Honey Bees

By analysing tail-wagging dances recorded. on videotape, it proved that duration of wagging run is the best signal communicating distance to food sources, and duration of a circuit of the dance is next to this. Thus wagging run and a circuit of the dance did not always accord with each other in indication of distances of food sources. To locate food sources, bees took a much amount of time for outward flight rather than homeward flight. When transported from the well accustomed feeding station to a release point further away, bees spent a large amount of time for homeward flight, and announced a precise location of the feeding station with wagging run. However, bees transported from the feeding station to a place nearer toward the hive, attached much importance to outward, flight which was made just after the transportation. From these results, it was concluded that making a flight, bees always ascertain whether the flying paths to and from the food sources are the same or not.