How do bees communicate with each other about foraging?

Bees primarily communicate about foraging through a behavior known as the "waggle dance." This dance is a specific type of movement that enables bees to convey detailed information about the distance and direction of food sources relative to the hive. When a forager returns to the colony after finding nectar or pollen, it performs this dance in the presence of other bees. The angle and duration of the waggle portion of the dance indicate the direction and distance to the resource. The intricate movements help other bees understand where to go to find food, making this form of communication highly effective for foraging efficiency.

While bees do use sound and pheromones for various forms of communication within the hive, the waggle dance is uniquely suited for conveying information about external foraging sites. Using pheromones is more relevant for signaling alarm, marking pathways, or coordinating hive activities, but it does not provide the same level of routing information as the dance method does. Similarly, while bees create honey structures as part of their behavior and hive maintenance, these actions do not communicate foraging information. Thus, the dance is a distinct and critical means of communication in the context of foraging.