[0:00] You've probably heard that bees use a
[0:02] complex set of movements, often called
[0:04] the waggle dance, to tell other worker
[0:06] bees where to find new sources of
[0:07] nectar. It's a super clever and
[0:09] sophisticated system. But it turns out
[0:11] that bees almost never immediately jump
[0:14] up to follow the directions they just
[0:15] got, which weirdly is also super clever
[0:19] and sophisticated. Hi, I'm Cameron and
[0:21] this is Minute Earth. Most communal
[0:24] insects lead their nestmates to
[0:25] promising food sources with pheromone
[0:27] trails. But bees like Beatatric here fly
[0:30] long distances to find flower patches.
[0:32] Chemical signals would just disappear
[0:34] into the air. Instead, after returning
[0:37] to the hive, bee shares information
[0:39] about a promising patch through
[0:41] choreography. The direction she moves
[0:43] describes the exact direction to the
[0:45] patch relative to the sun. The time she
[0:47] spends waggling tells her sisters how
[0:49] far the patch is in that direction, and
[0:51] the intensity conveys how promising Bee
[0:54] thinks the patch is. This complicated
[0:56] set of movements adds up to a set of map
[0:58] coordinates tagged with a starred review
[1:01] for bees. And Bee might repeat her
[1:03] choreography as many as 50 times to make
[1:06] sure the other workers catch every move.
[1:08] And at this point, I guess I should
[1:09] mention that the inside of a beehive is
[1:11] completely dark. Nearby workers have to
[1:13] follow Bee's every move by touching her
[1:16] with their antenna. But as much as 93%
[1:19] of the time, the other workers will
[1:21] observe this long, intricate set of
[1:23] movements and then just go on with their
[1:25] day, which actually makes sense. I mean,
[1:28] most of these workers are expert
[1:29] foragers themselves. They already have
[1:31] patches they know and like. There's also
[1:33] the risk of getting lost while following
[1:35] someone else's directions. Plus, bee
[1:37] might have overestimated how promising
[1:39] the patch actually is or might have made
[1:41] a mistake in her directions. Instead, a
[1:44] bee analyzes the information conveyed by
[1:46] a waggle dance. They weigh the risks of
[1:48] venturing into the unknown versus
[1:50] sticking with what they know and then
[1:52] make a decision. And the vast majority
[1:54] of the time, bees end up passing on that
[1:56] suggestion, which probably isn't
[1:58] different than how you use crowdsourced
[2:00] information. One five-star review
[2:02] probably wouldn't convince you to visit
[2:04] a new place instead of one you already
[2:06] love. But let's say your favorite place
[2:08] was closed or there were dozens of
[2:10] five-star reviews for this new place.
[2:12] Then you might be convinced to take the
[2:14] chance. It's the same with bees. In
[2:16] early spring and late fall when flower
[2:19] patches are few and far between or after
[2:21] a destructive storm, a bee's go-to spots
[2:23] are more likely to be empty. And in that
[2:26] case, it might be worth taking a chance
[2:28] on what another bee is buzzing about.
[2:30] And if multiple bees are giving the same
[2:32] information about the same patch, the
[2:34] worker is more likely to take a chance
[2:36] and visit it. So even though most of the
[2:38] time bees don't follow the directions
[2:40] conveyed by waggle dances, the
[2:42] information becomes part of the hive's
[2:44] communal knowledge, even if they don't
[2:46] make a beline for it.
[2:51] Now, here's a boogie you should totally
[2:53] pay attention to. Minute Earth is
[2:55] nominated for a Webby Award, and we
[2:57] would love it if you would buzz over to
[2:59] the link in the description and give us
[3:00] your vote. Making buzzworthy videos that
[3:03] explore the incredible science of insect
[3:05] communication and so much more takes a
[3:08] lot of effort from the workerbees over
[3:09] here. And if you love what we do, please
[3:11] consider joining Minute Earth on
[3:13] Patreon. Your support helps us keep
[3:15] digging into these topics and bringing
[3:16] them to you. Plus, our highle patrons
[3:18] get exclusive perks like this season's
[3:20] t-shirt club design, which shows
[3:22] everyone exactly how to do the waggle
[3:24] dance. Come join the dance party at
[3:26] patreon.com/minuteearth.