Packages

For this post, we need to install and load the beeswarm package.

We can install it from CRAN using install.packages("beeswarm"). Then, we can load it:

# install.packages("beeswarm")
library(beeswarm)

Dataset

Since beeswarm plots are made to visualize individual data points, we need a dataset that contains numerical values. Here, we’ll use the iris dataset, which is a built-in dataset in R.

We can easily load it:

data(iris)

Change dots color

The package comes with a beeswarm() function, and thanks to its col argument, we can change the color of the dots. Here, we’ll use the blue color.

beeswarm(
  iris$Sepal.Length,
  col="blue"
)

Change dots symbol

The pch argument allows to change the symbol of the dots. Here, we’ll use the 16 symbol since it’s the same as before but filled.

beeswarm(
  iris$Sepal.Length,
  pch=16
)

Change dots size

The cex argument allows to change the size of the dots. Here, we’ll use a 2.5 size (default is 1).

beeswarm(
  iris$Sepal.Length,
  cex=2.5
)

Change dots position

The method argument allows to change the position of the dots. Here are the available options:

• swarm (default): the dots are placed randomly, but they don’t overlap.
• center: the dots are symetrically placed around the center of the plot.
• hex: the dots are placed on a hexagonal grid.
• square: the dots are placed on a square grid.

In our case, we’ll use the center method:

beeswarm(
  iris$Sepal.Length,
  method="center",
  cex=2 # make the dots bigger
)

Going further

This post explains how to customize the dots in a beeswarm plot.

You might also be interested in how to flip a beeswarm plot or how to create a grouped beeswarm plot.

Related chart types

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Violin

Density

Histogram

Boxplot

Ridgeline