A bee returns from a food resource and performs a dance in the colony. His movements can tell others about a direction and a distance. One would think that this sequence always runs smoothly from the first attempt, as a fully ready-to-use program.
A study presented in 2023 compared young bees with experienced dancers to others raised in colonies without these older models. The first dances of bees deprived of this social experience contained more errors. Their indication of distance could remain staggered, even when other aspects improved with practice.
Observation does not imply that a bee organizes a class or voluntarily explains a rule. It shows that seeing and following companions contributes to the quality of a communication behavior. Inside the hive, a dance that seems instinctive therefore mixes biological dispositions with experience acquired in contact with others.
What we know
Social learning of communication behavior; no lessons deliberately taught by a teacher.
To go to the source
References accessed October 11, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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