As bees fly towards their food source, they observe the Sun. This is essential if the scout bees are to make use of the angle and direction indicated in the dance.

Yet bees are not limited to this remarkable achievement, and engage in activities even more extraordinary. Even if the weather is cloudy, they can use the Sun by means of its ultraviolet rays, which are able to pass through cloud cover as long as it is not too thick. The worker bees use these rays to establish the location of the Sun. The natural light from the Sun is polarized, in other words, the direction of vibrations of the light waves changes regularly as the Sun moves in the sky. This polarization cannot be seen by the human eye, although bees and many other living things can perceive it. Cloudy weather that makes the Sun invisible represents no obstacle to these creatures. Despite the clouds, bees think of the sky as being parceled up, and calculate where the Sun should be at a given moment.81 No doubt, this attribute is one of the examples of God's superior creation that enables bees to survive.

Bees use ultraviolet rays to find their way in cloudy weather. These light rays can penetrate the cloud cover so long as it is not too thick. The bees follow these rays emitted by the Sun and are able to calculate where the Sun must be at that moment.

Bees describe the location of the food source on the comb’s vertical plane. Yet as the picture to the side shows, the destination lies on the horizontal plane. Nonetheless, the bees fully understand the directions given and reach the source by calculating the necessary angles. The inspiration of God is the source of this astonishing ability.

BEES' MEMORIES It has been established that after watching the dance of a forager, the other bees in the hive do not immediately set off in flight. First they analyze the information provided in the dance and decide whether to act upon it. In one experiment, a small boat was anchored in the middle of a lake near a hive, and food was placed in it. The bees eventually discovered this food, immediately returned to the hive and danced to tell their fellows of the direction and location of the food source. But even though they danced for a long while, the other bees disregarded their information and remained in the hive. The boat was then pulled to the shore. A number of bees again found it, returned to the hive and began dancing. This time, the other bees left the hive and headed for the boat. From this, the scientists concluded that bees were aware of their surroundings and knew there was a lake there. Since there could be no food source for them in the lake, they ignored the first bees’ “mistaken” dance. James and Carol Gould, The Animal Mind, p. 106.

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• 81. Mark L. Winston, The Biology of the Honey Bee, pp.163-164.