Waggle Dance - Amazing Bees !

Bees communicate with one another using the Waggle Dance.  When one bee finds a source of flowers, it returns to the hive and performs a dance that communicates to other bees where these flowers are located.  The dance actually gives the direction and the distance from the hive!  The importance of the dance was discovered in 1947 but even today, researchers at Georgia Tech are studying the Waggle Dance of bees, and the way other animals communicate with each other.  They hope to use their findings to enable robots to communicate with each other.


Researchers at Georgia Tech's Robotics Lab have produced a fascinating video about the Waggle Dance.  It is 7 1/2 minutes long but very informative.  Here is the link to the video on YouTube: Ga Tech Robotics Lab Video on Waggle Dance

Looking for something shorter ?  This YouTube video is less than one minute but it shows the Waggle Dance of the honeybee!  Here is the link: Waggle Dance of Bees - Short Video

EARN A REWARD!!   Your answers are due to Mrs D by class on Friday.
(1) Do some research to find out who discovered the Waggle Dance and what country he/she is from. 
(2) Print out a copy of a world map and circle the country where this researcher is from.   (Page 2 of the Blog has a link to a world map if you need one.)
(3)  Be a scientist!!!  Think of two other types of animals that may have communication methods that would be very interesting to study and understand.  Do not select domestic animals such as cats, dogs, or horses.
(4) Describe an experiment or an observation that you would perform to better understand communication methods of the animals you selected.