ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses especially on studies that have drawn their insights from the diversity in dance communication among different Apis species. The Apis species and subspecies exhibit a variety of distinct behavioral differences, presumably corresponding to distinct evolutionary transitions; studies of character evolution require such diversity as a starting point. The behavior of Apis mellifera illustrates several basic features of honey bee dance communication. The feature of the dance language that is at issue is the slope of the monotonically increasing function that relates the distance signal to flight distance. Improved recording techniques have been used to detect dance sounds in both of the open-nesting species. Studies of the dance have underscored the value of interspecific comparisons as a source of knowledge about the origin and modification of behavioral traits.
