A New View of the Waggle Dance: Making Scents to Recruit Fellow Foragers
2007
The Scent of the Waggle Dance
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Corinna Thom, Liza Gross
Hypothesis
Do waggle-dancing honeybees produce odors that influence the foraging behavior of other bees?
Conclusion
Waggle-dancing bees emit specific odors that significantly increase the foraging activity of other honeybees.
Supporting Evidence
- Waggle dancers produce four distinctive odors that induce foraging activity in other honeybees.
- Bees exposed to the treatment mixture of the three hydrocarbons left the hive in far greater numbers than those exposed only to the solvent.
- The most energetic waggle dancers produced the most copious quantities of the identified compounds.
Takeaway
When honeybees dance, they release special smells that help other bees know where to find food.
Methodology
The researchers sampled air around waggle dancers and tested the effects of isolated chemical mixtures on bee behavior.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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