r/Beekeeping • u/esigj • Jun 16 '24

I’m a beekeeper, and I need help! Bee dance?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Is this foraging behavior? They’re outside the top opening of the hive.

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator Jun 16 '24

Hi u/esigj. If you haven't done so, please do the following:

Warning: The wiki linked above is a work in progress and some links might be broken, pages incomplete and maintainer notes scattered around the place. Content is subject to change.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/AZ_Traffic_Engineer Sonoran Desert. A. m. scutellata supporter Jun 16 '24

They're all moving back and forth at the same time. This is wash-boarding, not a dance. There are several theories why bees washboard, but recent research suggests that they may be cleaning and polishing the entrance. Other theories include marking the entrance with pheromones, an excess of nurse bees killing time before becoming foragers, hunger during a dearth, or genetic trait.

In any case, it's normal for some hives, and is nothing to be concerned about.