Bees have no words. They create Nominal Graded messages.
...accrued since I started teaching three decades ago. (Please click on the "Notes" for the "joke.")
Granted, the joke is as old as I am, but it is germane to our discussion here. There are no words in the bee's message. It is NOT language. It is a nominal graded communication.
It is graded because the bee performs a dance (motor pattern) on the inside wall of the hive.
It is an oval or figure-eight which is rotated relative to the sun and gravity. It is the degree of rotatio that informs the other bees of the direction. Likewise, the degree of vigor of motion of the abdomen tells the distance.
It is nominal because the bee‰s dance is dictated by internal processes and conditions, such as the build-up of fatigue acids and/or the need in the body for moisture etc. (Please click on the notes to see the bees dance.)
NOTES: Click here for the Joke!
NOTES: Click here to see the bees dance.