.png)
The Mystery of Bee Washboarding.
- Pete Rizzo
- Nov 6, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 9, 2025
Bee Washboarding and What We Know About This Strange Hive Behavior
We see bees washboarding in the warmer months here in Las Vegas, and it never fails to grab our attention.
We love to watch dozens or even hundreds of workers moving back and forth in near-perfect unison on the front of the hive. It is so beautifully weird to see.
They stroke the surface with their front legs and rock their bodies in a strange, hypnotic rhythm, creating a faint scratching sound like sandpaper on wood.
The synchronized motion resembles someone scrubbing laundry on an old-fashioned washboard, which is exactly how this behavior earned its name when beekeepers first documented it in the early 1900s.
Scientists have studied washboarding for more than a century, yet we still cannot pinpoint a single definitive purpose. That mystery makes it one of the most fascinating behaviors in beekeeping.
While it appears primarily in the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), and only occasionally in other Apis species, the behavior itself remains remarkably consistent across subspecies and locations.
Listen to this Article:
What We Know About Washboarding
Typically performed by house bees 10–20 days old
Most common in warm, humid late afternoons and early evenings
May serve surface maintenance, communication, or conditioning functions
Intensity can reflect colony strength and environmental conditions
Not all colonies exhibit washboarding equally
Who Participates and When
Washboarding usually involves younger house bees, about ten to twenty days old. These workers have graduated from cell-cleaning duties but haven’t yet begun foraging.
They occupy a middle ground in the hive’s labor structure, performing tasks like receiving nectar, capping cells, and tending to the queen. The behavior often lasts fifteen to thirty minutes before bees disperse or resume other duties.
We notice it most on warm, humid evenings following productive foraging days, especially during heavy nectar flows when the hive population swells.
Sometimes dozens of bees participate; other times the entire landing board becomes a living, undulating carpet of synchronized motion.
The Leading Theories
Surface Conditioning and Maintenance
The most widely accepted theory suggests that washboarding helps condition and polish the hive entrance. Bees rely on pheromones, vibrations, and texture cues, so maintaining a clean, familiar surface might help returning foragers orient quickly.
During washboarding, they may also deposit waxy secretions that reinforce the colony’s unique chemical signature.
In studies published in Apidologie and The Journal of Apicultural Research, surfaces frequently used by washboarding bees showed subtle texture changes and a buildup of colony-specific residues.
For an insect society that depends on scent and touch, this kind of maintenance could improve navigation and guard recognition.
Communication and Information Transfer
Another strong theory views washboarding as communication. The movements may generate vibrations or disperse pheromones that share information about foraging conditions or colony readiness.
Since every bee returning to the hive passes through this area, it’s an ideal place to transmit signals through vibration and scent.
Thomas Seeley’s research on vibration communication in The Wisdom of the Hive supports the idea that subtle body movements can convey complex information.
Washboarding could be a low-intensity, non-directional signal, more about colony status than resource location.
Physical Conditioning and Neural Development
A third explanation suggests washboarding functions as a kind of “training exercise.” Wax building, comb shaping, and brood capping demand precise coordination.
The synchronized rocking and stroking motions might strengthen thoracic muscles and reinforce neural pathways used in construction and manipulation tasks.
Honey bees are known for remarkable behavioral plasticity, learning new roles throughout their lives.
Like athletes training muscle memory, young workers might use washboarding to prepare for more complex motor tasks inside the hive.
Stress Response and Traffic Management
Washboarding also appears to increase under stressful or crowded conditions.
When nectar flows are heavy and traffic is high, this rhythmic movement may help occupy idle house bees, prevent congestion, and maintain order at the entrance.
The activity might also help regulate temperature and airflow, producing mild ventilation on warm days and evenings.
Although washboarding resembles fanning behavior, it likely serves a different purpose. Fanning is purposeful cooling, while washboarding may be an incidental benefit of coordinated movement.
The Contrarian View
Some researchers, including those cited in American Bee Journal, argue that washboarding may be largely non-adaptive.
It could be a harmless byproduct of bee neurobiology, an idle behavior that persists because it consumes little energy and doesn’t interfere with essential colony functions.
Evolution allows countless neutral behaviors to exist alongside adaptive ones, especially in highly social insects.
This view shows that not every phenomenon needs a purpose. Washboarding might persist simply because it feels right to the bees and causes no harm to the colony.
Environmental Triggers
Washboarding usually occurs between 70°F and 85°F. It’s common in humid or lightly overcast weather and often fades as temperatures drop after sunset.
Disturbances like inspections, predators, or vibrations, typically stop the behavior immediately. Colonies may resume it once calm returns, suggesting it’s linked to comfort and stability rather than alarm.
What Washboarding Tells the Beekeeper
From one standpoint, washboarding often signals a thriving colony with balanced age demographics and plenty of young house bees. A hive that regularly washboards on warm afternoons often shows:
Strong population and brood production
Active nectar collection
Normal division of labor
Adequate space and healthy morale
Conversely, a sudden drop in washboarding can indicate stress, disease, or demographic imbalance. We pay attention to its presence or absence as one small clue in assessing colony vitality.
The Beauty of Uncertainty
No matter which theory you favor, the communal rhythm of washboarding highlights the sophistication of honey bee societies.
You never know, It may serve all these functions, or none of them particularly well. Perhaps it began as surface maintenance and evolved into something more symbolic, a kind of collective ritual?
Washboarding reminds us that understanding nature takes more than data. It takes patience, observation, and the willingness to admit that sometimes, we simply don’t know.
The bees continue their synchronized dance whether we understand it or not. They’ve done it for millennia, and they’ll keep doing it long after we’ve moved on to other mysteries.
That’s part of what makes beekeeping so fascinating: even after all our learning, the hive still keeps a few secrets to itself.
Betsy & Pete
🐝Las Vegas’s All-Natural Live Bee Removal Team
About Us: The Authors
We’re Betsy and Pete - Beekeepers on a Mission in Las Vegas
We’re not just in the bee business, we’re in the bee-saving business. Trained by a master beekeeper and backed by hundreds of successful removals, we are dedicated to rescuing and relocating honey bees with care and precision.
Every swarm we save and every hive we manage reflects our deep love for the bees.
At our Joshua Tree Preserve in Arizona, we care for dozens of thriving hives. Some wild, some honey-bearing, and all are part of our commitment to ethical, sustainable beekeeping.
Why Vegas Bees? Because We Never Stop Learning or Caring
Beekeeping is always evolving, and so are we. We stay on the cutting edge by continuing our education, connecting with fellow beekeepers, and refining our beekeeping practices and techniques to ensure the best outcomes for both bees and people.
Whether it’s advanced bee removal strategies or the latest natural methods, we’re always one step ahead.
We’re also proud to support the beekeeping community with high-quality beekeeping supplies for everyone. If you’re ready to suit up and start your journey, we’ve got what you need.
