Impact of the quality of food sources on the wing beating of honey bee dancers

The waggle dances of honey bees provide information about the location of food sources and their quality. This study aimed to investigate how the quality of food sources affects different components of the dance. For the first time, we analysed in detail both the waggle phase and the return phase of the dance using a high-speed camera. The frequency of wing beats in the waggle phase and the frequency of wing-beating pulses in the return phase were significantly higher in foragers collecting more concentrated honey compared with foragers collecting less-concentrated honey, whereas the duration of the return phase was significantly shorter. Discriminant function analysis allowed correct classification of 88.1% of dances as referring to 60 or 40% honey concentration. In conclusion, information about the quality of food sources can be contained both in the waggle phase and in the return phase; however, the return phase appears to transfer more information about the quality of food sources.