Hydrocarbons emitted by waggle-dancing honey bees stimulate colony foraging activity by causing experienced foragers to exploit known food sources

Two hypotheses concerning the function of the hydrocarbons emitted by waggle-dancing bees are investigated in this study. First, we test the hypothesis that the waggle-dance compounds stimulate foraging behavior. In support of this hypothesis, the number of bee departures from a hive increased as much as 46% and the number of forager visits to a feeder station increased as much as 106% when the dance compounds were introduced into the hive. Second, we test the hypothesis that the waggle-dance compounds stimulate foraging by causing experienced foragers to depart the hive to exploit known food sources. In support of this hypothesis, individually marked foragers visited an empty feeder station both more often and in greater numbers following exposure to the waggle-dance compounds than following exposure to a control substance. The results of these experiments suggest that the waggle-dance compounds function as a foraging semiochemical, operating in synergy with the waggle dance itself.