Flight of the Honey Reading Answers

arivarasi

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16-09-2025

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In this IELTS Reading article, you can get Flight of the Honey Reading Answers from the table below. There are three IELTS Reading question types in this reading passage.

1.B 5.1 Second 9.False
2.C 6.The Sun 10.True
3.D 7.Waggle 11.Not Given
4.Visual 8.Odour 12.False

Flight of the Honey Reading Answers are provided in this article with the complete explanation. Attempt the passage and recheck your answer with our answer key to enhance your reading skills. 

If you want to practise the reading section more, this Flight of the Honey Reading Answers article will help you. To score well in your actual IELTS reading test you must familiarise yourself with all the question types.

In this practice test you have to answer 3 IELTS reading question types. The 3 question types mentioned are:

  •  IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Question.
  •  IELTS Reading Sentence Completion.
  • IELTS Reading True False Not Given.

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 6 thoughts on the “Flight of the Honey reading passage”

Before going to the Flight of the Honey Reading Answers, know some valuable thoughts on the same. 

  • This reading passage has information about the honeybees and their characteristics, look at the key-terms to respond better.
  • Do not miss the numbers, names, and locations mentioned in the passage which will help you to locate the answers easily. 
  • Answer all the questions as there is no negative marking for the incorrect answers you provide. 
  • We’ve given the ‘Flight of the Honey Reading Answers’ with location which will direct you to practise on how to locate the keywords in the passage. 
  • Utilize the Flight of the Honey reading PDF given in this article to do a mock test of the reading section. 
  • Flight of the Honey reading answers with explanations will help you to know the reason behind choosing a particular answer for the passage.

Before practising the Flight of the Honey IELTS Reading Answers, check the IELTS reading tips to ace it better.

IELTS Reading Passage - Flight of the Honey

Read the given Flight of the Honey passage thoroughly to learn new vocabulary and understand the test with the below-given flight of the honey IELTS reading answers.

Flight of the Honey

A Honeybees are distinguished by their ability to make liquid sugar (honey) and their propensity to build wax nests in colonies, both of which require a high level of social interaction among members. As a result, they maintain strict gender-based divisions of labour, with all males working as drones to fertilize and care for the eggs, and all females, except for the one fertile queen, tasked with gathering nectar for the colony's offspring. In addition, honeybees have developed a complex system of communication to send vital information from one individual to another.
 
B Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of honeybee communication is a set of flight motions only performed by a female worker bee that has returned to the nest with nectar and needs to alert the rest of her colony that she has discovered food supplies and where they can be found. Karl von Frisch, a German zoologist, first interpreted this so-called honeybee dance in the early 1970s. For the purpose of observation, von Frisch and his students built several glass-walled hives and marked a collection of worker bees, or foragers, with paint. When the bees returned, he meticulously recorded their movements, the angle and direction of their flight, and any other visual cues offered by the colony. Von Frisch discovered that each element of the dance revealed specific information about the location of the nectar reserves and enticed others to revisit the site.
 
C The distance from the field to the hive is the first piece of information transmitted by dancing bees, which they do in one of three ways. If it is fewer than 50 meters from the colony's nest, the bee will fly in tight circles before abruptly changing direction. She will repeat this routine, which von Frisch's team referred to as the round dance until she has recruited multiple employees to return to the field with her. When the distance exceeds 50 meters but is less than 150 meters, she will do a sickle dance, a flight pattern like a crescent. If the field is more than 150 meters away, the forager will perform a waggle dance consisting of a brief run straight ahead followed by a return to her original position. She will then retrace her steps and return from the opposite side. The length of the forward run corresponds to the distance of the food source; for instance, a 2.5-second forward run implies that the nectar was located approximately 2500 meters away.
 
D Recruits must also know the direction in which they must fly to reach the suitable foraging spot; this information is sent to the hive via the bee's orientation. It is not, however, a direct correlation with the position of the hive's food supply, but rather its positioning relative to the sun. Therefore, if the food is located directly opposite the sun, the bee will fly straight down; if it is in the same direction as the sun, it will fly straight up from the colony nest. A position of 60 degrees to the right of the sun will cause the bee to descend at an angle of 60 degrees to the right of the nest. In addition, because the sun is in constant motion throughout the day, the bee's orientation will change depending on when the dance is done. However, sceptics of von Frisch's results argue that visual signals are insufficient to indicate the exact location of a food source. Several scientists, including Adrian Wenner, believe that odour is one of the factors along with dance for honeybee communication. Wenner was unable to attract fresh workers to the foraging activities using robotic bees performing the same dances; but, when he gave nectar to the robot, workers readily followed. Additionally, he determined that the odours must be indicative of the actual flowers that hold the food source; otherwise, the bees will arrive at the place without knowing which blooms will be beneficial.

Flight of the Honey Reading Questions

Question 1-3

Refer to the Reading Passage and choose the option that best completes each sentence.

01. Studies undertaken in the 1970s

A. were conducted using conventional beehives.
B. found that forager bees had distinctive markings.
C. The phenomenon of the honeybee's body language has been thoroughly examined.
D. The conclusion was that there was no visible pattern to the bees' movement.

02. To determine the proximity of a nectar supply, forager bees use their sense of smell.

A. will continue to fly in the same direction.
B. only begins to move when other bees are present and watching.
C. will proceed straight ahead.
D. will repeatedly fly in one direction and then abruptly reverse course.

03. Honey Bees

A. possess a basic ability to convey information.
B. have clearly separated functions.
C. exist in equal numbers of male and female individuals.
D. relocating frequently to regions with particular sorts of flowers.

Click to know more about IELTS reading multiple choice questions.

Question 4-8

Complete the sentence below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
 
04. The bee will advance _____________  for every 1,000 meters the food source is away.

05. For food sources more than 150 meters away, the forager will do a _______________ dance to communicate distance.

06. It has been suggested that both ______________ and mobility can aid in locating food sources.

07. To locate the direction of the nectar, the forager will travel in accordance with ______________ position.

08. Von Frisch used a variety of __________ cues to determine how bees communicate.

Click to know more about IELTS reading sentence completion.

Question 9-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?
In boxes 9 -13 on your answer sheet write

TRUE, if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE, if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN,  if there is no information on this

09. Sunlight is required for the honeybee dance to be performed.

10. The honeybee dance is performed until a sufficient number of additional bees join the nectar harvest.

11. Wenner determined that a similar odour will aid bees in locating the general region of nectar, but not the precise source.

12. Drone bees communicate by a series of complex actions.

13. Von Frisch noticed that each part of the dance disclosed precise information regarding the location of the nectar deposits and encouraged others to return to the site.

Click to know more about IELTS reading true/false/not given.

Flight of the Honey Reading Answers with Explanations

The Flight of the Honey Reading Answers for the above questions are given below with clear explanations. 

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1. C 

Explanation: The 1st line of Paragraph B states,” Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of honeybee communication is a set of flight motions only performed by a female worker bee that has returned to the nest with nectar and needs to alert the rest of her colony that she has discovered food supplies and where they can be found. Karl von Frisch, a German zoologist, first interpreted this so-called honeybee dance in the early 1970s.”

2. D 

Explanation: The 2nd line of Paragraph C states,” If it is fewer than 50 meters from the colony's nest, the bee will fly in tight circles before abruptly changing direction. She will repeat this routine, which von Frisch's team referred to as the round dance until she has recruited multiple employees to return to the field with her.”

3. B

Explanation: The 1st line of Paragraph A states,” Honeybees are distinguished by their ability to make liquid sugar (honey) and their propensity to build wax nests in colonies, both of which require a high level of social interaction among members. As a result, they maintain strict gender-based divisions of labour, with all males working as drones to fertilize and care for the eggs, and all females, except for the one fertile queen, tasked with gathering nectar for the colony's offspring.”

4. One Second

Explanation: The 11th line of Paragraph C states,” The length of the forward run corresponds to the distance of the food source; for instance, a 2.5-second forward run implies that the nectar was located approximately 2500 meters away. “ 
Based on the calculation, the bee will move for 1000 metres in one second for the food source. The duration totally depends on how far the food is located.

5. Waggle

Explanation: The 8th line of Paragraph C states,” If the field is more than 150 meters away, the forager will perform a waggle dance consisting of a brief run straight ahead followed by a return to her original position.”

6. Odour

Explanation: The 12th line of Paragraph D states,” Several scientists, including Adrian Wenner, believe that odour is one of the factors along with dance for honeybee communication. ”

7. The sun’s

Explanation: The 3rd line of Paragraph D states,” a direct correlation with the position of the hive's food supply, but rather it's positioning relative to the sun.”

8. Visual

Explanation: The 10th line of Paragraph D states,” sceptics of von Frisch's results argue that visual signals are insufficient to indicate the exact location of a food source.”

9. Not Given

Explanation: We only know that the sun's position is significant.

10. True

Explanation: The 3rd line of Paragraph C states,” the bee will fly in tight circles before abruptly changing direction. She will repeat this routine, which von Frisch's team referred to as the round dance until she has recruited multiple employees to return to the field with her.”

11. False

Explanation: The 14th line of Paragraph D states,” Wenner was unable to attract fresh workers to the foraging activities using robotic bees performing the same dances; but, when he gave nectar to the robot, workers readily followed. Additionally, he determined that the odours must be indicative of the actual flowers that hold the food source; otherwise, the bees will arrive at the place without knowing which blooms will be beneficial.”

12. False

Explanation: The 3rd line of Paragraph A states,”As a result, they maintain strict gender-based divisions of labour, with all males working as drones to fertilize and care for the eggs, and all females, except for the one fertile queen, tasked with gathering nectar for the colony's offspring. In addition, honeybees have developed a complex system of communication to send vital information from one individual to another.”

13. True

Explanation: The 10th line of Paragraph B states,” Von Frisch discovered that each element of the dance revealed specific information about the location of the nectar reserves and enticed others to revisit the site.”

Check the other reading passages

Conclusion 

Save this “Flight of the Honey Reading Answers” for your IELTS reading test preparation. The more you strengthen your reading, and language skills the better your IELTS score will become. 

arivarasi

About Author Arivarasi

Arivarasi is an experienced author with expertise in the study abroad industry and preparing test materials for exams like IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, SAT, PTE, etc. She stays up-to-date with university and college requirements for international students which allows her to provide guidance on course selection, documents like SOP, LOR, and scholarship opportunities. She has written numerous articles on study abroad exams, destinations, universities & colleges requirements, admission procedures, and the entire process of studying abroad. Collaborating with industry experts and counselors, she crafts informative articles that make students take the right decisions.

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