About the Author

Matt Rochford

Ranger

Growing up in the small coastal town of Mtunzini afforded Matt a childhood of endless adventures and the freedom to explore the rich diversity of animal and plant life in the area. He thus developed his passion for wildlife at a young age. ...

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25 Comments

on Honeybees Dance for Food

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Denise Vouri
Guest contributor

Thanks Matt for this wonderful informative article about the working life of bees. I see them in my yard, photograph them, and do wonder once they leave my lavender bush, wonder where is their hive, how do they know to come here…. Your description of the scouts and their waggle dance was perfect. Once again I learned something new from the Londolozi blog.

Gawie Jordaan
Master Tracker

Absolutely Vital and incredible!

Michael and Terri Klauber
Guest contributor

Matt, All we can say is WOW! We had no idea that there is so much detail in bees inner workings in the hive! Thanks for a great education. The “dance” is something we will never see, but it is interesting that it is happening all the time!

Valmai Vorster
Master Tracker

Matt who could of thought that bees is so clever and even have a dance they perform to tell the other bees where the food is. Absolutely astounding and even now what to look out for while hunting for food. The bee eater birds are beautiful in colour and make a beautiful sound. I will certainly appreciate a bee much more now that I have learnt how hard they work and how clever they are.

Kara Taylor
Master Tracker

Ok Bees blow my mind! That’s incredible -And imagine how long it took scientists to figure out that is what is actually going on with them – and all the millions of other things we don’t actually know about them. Amazing!

Matt Rochford
Ranger

That’s what I love so much about nature in general Kara – we know far less than we think we do. There is a wealth of knowledge out there in the natural world, simply waiting for our senses to grow sharper. Stay curious!

Christa Blessing
Master Tracker

Thanks, Matt, for this great article on bees. They are such amazing little animals. It is so incredible how they pass on their knowledge about food sources and even dangers lurking nearby.
And we should be really grateful to them because they provide us (though involuntarily) with such an excellent product as honey.

Matt Rochford
Ranger

Thank you Christa, happy you enjoyed my blog post. Pure, raw honey is one of my absolute favorites!

Ian Hall
Master Tracker

Absolutely amazing, I have set out my garden to be more bee friendly over recent years and have really enjoyed the masses I have had and the photographic opportunities. I love the photographs and if birds are much harder to photograph than lions and leopards , bees are harder still . Well done

Matt Rochford
Ranger

That’s wonderful Ian. It can be very therapeutic spending time amidst the flowers and observing/photographing the bees pollinating them. You are quite right, bee photography has quite a difficulty rating to it!

Victoria Auchincloss
Master Tracker

I have always loved watching what we called bumblebees in my childhood. It never ceases to amaze how much they contribute to our well being! We have never been at Londolozi on the spring, but maybe we should think about it! Thank you! Victoria

Matt Rochford
Ranger

It will be a lovely change in scenery for you Victoria. The bush becomes beautifully green and lush going into the summer. More likely to see bumblebees then too!

William Paynter
Master Tracker

Matt, bees one of my favorite insects. Thanks for all the reminders about their lives. Oh, honey is one of my all time favorite sweets.

Matt Rochford
Ranger

Thanks William, happy to have shed some light on the bees. We as people tend to forget about the small things, but they really are so important.

Leonie De Young
Master Tracker

A really interesting blog Matt. I am so glad that Londolozi is doing all it can for bees. Without bees in the world we would have no food. Unfortunately many hives have been devastated here in Canada with some form of virus (or whatever). I do my part by having bee friendly flowers in my garden. Thank you for sharing with us.

Matt Rochford
Ranger

You are quite right. Bees are a very crucial component to a healthy, functioning environment. Doing your part in providing them with some variety will defintely go a long way Leonie. Glad you enjoyed the blog!

Alex McMillan
Senior Digital Ranger

Fascinating insights.

Matt Rochford
Ranger

Thank you Alex! Glad I could share.

Francesca Doria
Master Tracker

What a masterwork in taking a perfect portrait of the basic of life on earth with its almost blinding beauty of colours and complexity. I knew of bees behaviour but every species has its peculiarities and those flowers are nowhere to be found but there. Thank you

Chelsea Allard
Master Tracker

Bees and butterflies are absolutely fascinating. Our species could learn a lot from them regarding oneness and cooperation

Matt Rochford
Ranger

Most definitely. We can take from them that the sum of our individual actions contribute to the greater good of the entire community.

Barbara Wallace
Senior Digital Ranger

Wow!! How did I get to this age and never know any of this?! Amazing, thank you so much. The photos are wonderful!

Matt Rochford
Ranger

Thank you Barbara, so glad you enjoyed it. Bees are incredibly interesting insects!

Linda Rawles
Digital Tracker

Magnificent piece. We had better honor the bees or humanity will not endure.

Paul Canales
Master Tracker

Wow Matt, incredibly interesting post about the brilliant little creatures! Your information on the scouts and their waggle dance was excellent and engaging, and I’ll never look at these little gems in my yard the same! Thank you!!

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