Communication Among Animals

Today, humans have no difficulties communicating with each other. We are able to form letters, syllables and words with working vocal cords. But fauna has also found its way to establish contact with conspecifics.

Baby animals can recognise their mother by calls, conspecifics indicate danger by warning cries.

Creatures of the same species also communicate by movements of the head or the tail, by raising the ears, bristling the fur or by winking as dolphins do.

In summer, everybody knows this: You buy a fizzy drink, sit outside and it might even take some time until the first bee has found its way to the opening of the bottle or can. But as soon as one appears, you can be sure that others will not be far as soon as the first one disappears for a short time.

By various experiments it was possible to find out that bees have developed a unique way of communication to indicate food. They perform dances, which tell whole sentences.

If the source of food is very close to the beehive, round dances are performed. From a distance of approx. 80 - 100 m onwards, the dance turns into a waggle dance (has the shape of a flattened 8). The angle of the "eight" with reference to the sun shows the direction of the food, the number of revolutions in a certain period of time the distance. The further away the food, the slower the bees "waggle".

Since the eyes of a bee can perceive ultraviolet light, the bees are able to see the sun even when there is a closed cloud cover. Very interestingly, the bees take the changing position of the sun into account when they indicate the direction, and they have a very good sense of time.