Communication between worker honey bees is essential if they're to
survive. If a worker honey bee finds a good source for food, then she needs
to communicate to others where the food supply is.
Bees use dances to communicate, they have a number of dances
depending on how far away the food source is. With all of the dances,
the worker bee will periodically offer samples of the food to potential
collectors.
The two main dances are the round dance and the wagtail dance
also known as the waggle dance.
If a source is fairly close to the bee hive, then the bee will use
the round dance. She will use a series of rapid circular movements,
reversing direction every one or two turns. While she is doing this,
the worker bee will vibrate her abdomen from side to side. This dance only
gives the distance from the hive.
If the food source is a fair distance from the bee hive, then the
worker bee will use the wagtail dance. It has a figure 8 pattern with a
long run where the loops meet. The dance gives the direction in relation
to the sun and the distance. Distance is important because it lets other
bees know how much 'fuel' is needed for the flight.
Another dance is the sickle dance. It's at the transitional stage
between round and wagtail.