The honeybee waggle dance indicates the direction and distance of a food source.
A foraging worker performs the dance on the honeycomb after returning to the colony. During the waggle phase, it moves in a straight line while vibrating its body, then circles back and repeats the movement. The angle of the straight run relative to gravity on the vertical comb represents the direction of the food relative to the Sun. The duration of the waggle phase roughly communicates distance.
The dance does not transmit a map or an exact set of coordinates. Bees also use odor carried from the food source to help identify the target. The Sun’s position can be inferred even when it is partly hidden because bees can detect polarized light.
The round dance is a related honeybee behavior, generally associated with nearby food and lacking the waggle dance’s precise directional information.