Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
142976 Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2009 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

The honeybee (Apis mellifera) waggle dance, whereby dancing bees communicate the location of profitable food sources to other bees in the hive, is one of the most celebrated communication behaviours in the animal world. Dance followers, however, often appear to ignore this location information, the so-called dance language, after leaving the nest. Here we consider why foragers follow dances and discuss the function of the dance as a multicomponent signal. We argue that the ‘dance language’ is just one information component of the waggle dance and that the two terms should not be used synonymously. We propose that location information is often backup information to be used in case information acquired directly from the environment about food sources is not available, is of poor quality or is associated with unprofitable food sources.

Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences (General)
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