A novel Cooperative Bee Swarm Optimization (CBSO) algorithm based on foraging behaviour of honey bees is presented. The CBSO employs cooperative behaviours of multiple swarms in optimizing numerical functions. The proposed approach provides different patterns which are used by the bees to adjust their flying trajectories. The flying patterns provide an efficient way to balance exploration and exploitation. Cooperation is obtained by sharing information between swarms through a leader swarm. Also, a colonization process is performed between swarms. In colonization process a portion of an extinct swarm is replaced with the individuals from a colonist swarm. The proposed algorithm was tested on a set of well-known test functions. Results have shown that the proposed algorithm is efficient, robust, and outperforms other genetic, particle swarm, and bee algorithms examined in this paper.