The Scent of the Waggle Dance

TLDR

The waggle dance of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) foragers communicates to nest mates the location of a profitable food source. We used solid‑phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to demonstrate that waggle‑dancing bees produce and release two alkanes, tricosane and pentacosane, and two alkenes, Z‑(9)‑tricosene and Z‑(9)‑pentacosene, onto their abdomens and into the air. The study found that waggle‑dancing bees release these compounds while nondancing foragers produce only trace amounts, and that injecting them increases hive exit rates, indicating they function as semiochemicals that recruit workers and add a new dimension to foraging organization.

Abstract

The waggle dance of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) foragers communicates to nest mates the location of a profitable food source. We used solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to show that waggle-dancing bees produce and release two alkanes, tricosane and pentacosane, and two alkenes, Z-(9)-tricosene and Z-(9)-pentacosene, onto their abdomens and into the air. Nondancing foragers returning from the same food source produce these substances in only minute quantities. Injection of the scent significantly affects worker behavior by increasing the number of bees that exit the hive. The results of this study suggest that these compounds are semiochemicals involved in worker recruitment. By showing that honey bee waggle dancers produce and release behaviorally active chemicals, this study reveals a new dimension in the organization of honey bee foraging.