Published on 04/07/2025 by James Best

The Bee’s Knees: How Do These Miniature Marvels Find Flowers?

Let’s Discover Something Amazing!

Have you ever watched a bee zip from flower to flower in your garden and wondered, “How does it know where to go?” 🐝 It’s like they have a secret map to all the best nectar spots! Well, get ready to be amazed because these tiny workers are actual geniuses when it comes to finding flowers.

Did you know that bees can sniff out a single flower’s scent from over 800 metres away? That’s like being able to smell your favourite cake baking from almost a whole mile away! 🍰 And their eyes? They can see colours that we can’t even imagine, including special patterns on petals that act like landing strips. Talk about flower power! 🌺

Time to Get Our Hands Dirty!

The Waggle Dance Experiment

Let’s learn the incredible “waggle dance” that bees use to tell their hive mates exactly where to find the best flowers. You’ll need:

• A willing helper (get an adult to join in the fun!)
• Some space to move around

Safety Note: Be careful not to bump into anything while dancing!

1. One person pretends to be a scout bee who has found an amazing flower patch.
2. The “scout bee” does a waggle dance, moving in a figure-8 pattern while vibrating their body.
3. The other person is a worker bee who must carefully watch the dance.
4. The scout bee’s dance tells the worker bee which direction to fly and how far away the flowers are!

The Science Behind It: Bees communicate the location of flowers through this special dance. The direction of the waggle part shows which way to fly, and the length of the waggle tells how far away the flowers are.

Mind-Blowing Facts!

• A single beehive can have up to 60,000 bees! 🐝🐝🐝 That’s like having 60,000 tiny explorers searching for flowers every day.
• Bees have an incredible sense of smell with over 170 different odour detectors in their antennae. They can even smell through their feet!
• The fastest recorded bee flight speed is 25 mph (40 km/h)! That’s like a race car zooming through your garden. 🏎️

Your Turn to Explore!

• Go on a flower hunt in your garden or local park. See if you can spot any bees hard at work. What colours and patterns do you think might attract them?
• Try making your own “bee food” by mixing sugar and water. Place it near some flowers and watch which insects come to visit.
• Design a new type of flower that you think would be perfect for attracting bees. What colours, shapes, and scents would you include?

The Big Question

Bees are incredible little creatures that play a huge role in keeping our planet healthy. But did you know that many bee species are in danger? Scientists are working hard to protect these important pollinators, but we can all do our part too. How could you help make your garden or local area more bee-friendly? Buzz over these ideas and see what you can come up with! 🌻

Written by James Best