# What is this bee doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Beekeeping - Basics\ **Created:** [September 27, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/what-is-this-bee-doing/3383 "2015-09-27T13:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dunc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Dunc](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dunc)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/what-is-this-bee-doing/3383/1 "2015-09-27T13:16:13Z")
![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/honeyflow/original/2X/0/029cf662c842289eb185341ed643be08d41e08f5.jpg) There’s two of them stationary with their bums in the air looking like they are licking the hive? ---
**Author:** ![Dee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/dee/32/5840_2.png) [@Dee](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/what-is-this-bee-doing/3383/2 "2015-09-27T14:51:05Z")
Signalling with their nasanov glands. It contains a pheromone which the bees use to attract returning forager bees. You see it quite a lot when new bees are on orienting flights and when you hive a swarm and the bees are indicating where queen and home is. ---
**Author:** ![JeffH](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.honeyflow.com/jeffh/32/7192_2.png) [@JeffH](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/JeffH)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/what-is-this-bee-doing/3383/3 "2015-09-28T01:39:12Z")
The licking the hive part sounds like they’re washboarding. ---
**Author:** ![Dunc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Dunc](https://forum.honeyflow.com/u/Dunc)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/what-is-this-bee-doing/3383/4 "2015-09-28T12:50:31Z")
The bees were pretty stationary, so i don’t think it was washboarding. Though i’ll keep an eye out for that. It’s all new to me. 🙂