Decoding the miraculous language of bees

SIR – Your report (March 10) tells how the worker honeybee learns the “waggle dance”, whereby information about recently discovered sources of nectar or pollen is passed on to other workers.

The bee can describe what is to be found and the quantity – together with the bearing in relation to the sun and the distance, which could be as far as three miles from the hive.

This information is communicated in total darkness within the hive, on vertical combs little more than a quarter of an inch apart. It is perhaps one of the greatest feats of any creature on Earth.

Duncan Reeves

Lindfield, West Sussex

A carving on the library of Leven, Fife, once home to the town’s workers’ co-operative