Responses to the environment

When foraging honeybees return to their hive, they communicate information about food sources through a behavior called a waggle dance. The waggle dance allows the dancer bee to communicate the direction, distance, and quality of a food source to the bees watching the dance, which are called followers. Followers can then fly efficiently to the indicated food source, bringing more food back to the colony.

Which of the following describes the most likely evolutionary explanation for the honeybee behavior described above?

(Choice A)
The waggle dance recruits foragers from other hives to bring food to the dancer bee’s colony.
(Choice B)
The waggle dance points other bees away from a food source, ensuring the food source remains abundant for the dancer bee.
(Choice C)
The waggle dance leads to more bees leaving the hive and starting new colonies, freeing up resources for the dancer bee’s colony.
(Choice D)
The waggle dance directs the behavior of the follower bees, which increases the overall fitness of the bee colony.

AP®︎/College Biology

Course: AP®︎/College Biology > Unit 8

Problem