Why do bees dance?

Bees dance to give other bees directions to good food. In the dark hive, a returning forager makes a patterned waggle that tells the colony which way to fly and about how far. Her scent also helps the others recognize the kind of flower they should search for.

The dance even uses the sun like a movable compass, so an angle on the comb becomes an angle in the sky. Several bees may advertise different flower patches at once, and the crowd tends to follow the dance that promises the richest meal.