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When a worker bee finds a source of nectar she informs other bees about it when she returns to the nest They visit the nectar source and in turn inform others when they return to the nest In this way forager bees are recruited to make efficient use of available nectar supplies. It was Karl von Frisch and his colleagues who, over many years, worked out how the information is communicated by means of the waggle dance.

The tremble-dancing bees produced vibrations at frequencies of 45- 350 Hz, lasting for 142 milliseconds, which made the comb vibrate.

Kirchner showed that worker bees subjected to these vibrations performed significantly shorter lasting waggle dances, and consequently the number of bees leaving for the feeder decreased.

In this way the colony is able to ensure that it functions most efficiently: there is no point in foragers working to bring nectar which cannot be stored. This research relates to the western hive bee, Apis mellifera.

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1993, vol 33, page 169

[Bees for Development Journal #31]