The biological importance of the dance by the worker honeybee is that it___________

Analyze the question: It asks why a worker honeybee performs a dance, and what that dance means biologically.

Explain the concept: Honeybees live in a colony with castes: the queen, drones, and workers. Communication is essential. Karl von Frisch won a Nobel Prize for decoding the waggle dance, which a forager bee performs back in the hive after finding a good food source.

• Round dance: The food is close to the hive (roughly under 50-100 m).
• Waggle dance: The food is farther away. The angle of the waggle run relative to vertical shows the direction of the food in relation to the sun. The duration of the waggle shows the distance.

Solution (checking each option):

• A. Signal for mating: Wrong. Mating happens in flight between the queen and drones (the nuptial flight), not through the worker's dance.
• B. Warning signal: Wrong. Alarm is communicated by chemicals (alarm pheromones released when the bee stings) and by behavior at the hive entrance, not by the dance.
• C. Signals the availability of food: Correct. The dance tells other workers that food is available, and also where it is, how far, and in what direction.
• D. Identifying caste members: Wrong. Caste and colony identity are recognized mainly through smell (pheromones), not the dance.

Answer: The dance of the worker honeybee signals the availability (and location) of food, which is option C.

Exam tip: Remember "Dance = Directions to Dinner." If a question mentions a bee dance, think food location. If it mentions alarm, think pheromones. If it mentions mating, think the queen and drones in flight.