how far do most bees fly to forage. i have read so many different takes on this from 100 meters to six miles. what is the general consensus from the group?
I have read in several places that bees will forage up to two miles from their hive.
Quote from: keith13 on March 08, 2008, 07:56:20 PM
how far do most bees fly to forage. i have read so many different takes on this from 100 meters to six miles. what is the general consensus from the group?
2-3 miles radius.
Ive read up to 3 miles
According to Huber it's 1 1/2 miles. According to Brother Adam it's 3 1/2 miles. I'm sure it depends on the race, the cell size and the available forage.
Does terrain affect how far they'll fly?
If they have to fly over a mile they are burning all the surplus -just my opinon :lol: RDY-B
Brother Adam insists when he had the English native bees that they flew 3 1/2" to get to the nearest heather and they would make heather honey. When he got Italians, he had to take them to the heather to get heather honey.
Interestingly they often describe this as "the small brown native bee". I think they were small cell.
Think of it this way. The flight muscle on a bee is the same regardless of cell size, but the bee is not. So you end up with a large cell bee with a small flight muscle. Sort of like having a 3 ton truck with a four cylinder engine. With a small cell bee you have the same size flight muscle and a much smaller bee. Sort of like having a 1/2 ton pickup with that same motor.
Quote from: keith13 on March 08, 2008, 07:56:20 PM
how far do most bees fly to forage. i have read so many different takes on this from 100 meters to six miles. what is the general consensus from the group?
It all depends on the nectar availability. During a good flow there is usually sufficient nectar sources near the hive to satisfy the bees requirements so they might not even venture past 1/2 mile in any one direction of the hive (RADIUS). During a Dearth or Drought they might have to travel 3-4 miles radius from the hive. At the longer distances the foragers die quicker due to the prolonged flights required and the return of nectar quantity to the hive is barely sufficient to keep it alive. When foraging tips past that outer boundry then the hive will abscond.
Quote from: Brian D. Bray on March 09, 2008, 03:34:52 AM
Quote from: keith13 on March 08, 2008, 07:56:20 PM
how far do most bees fly to forage. i have read so many different takes on this from 100 meters to six miles. what is the general consensus from the group?
When foraging trips past that outer boundry then the hive will abscond.
I have theorized that this was the case as I have observed several hundred feral hives located in close proximity to terrific nectar sources such as the chinese tallow.
....JP
What ever a kilometer is :-\
http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:aIONwEZqIMoJ:www.lasi.group.shef.ac.uk/pdf/rbeeimpr2000.pdf+Honeybee+forage+range&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a
In his book von Frisch (p. 66) also discussed other evidence for the furthest distance that honey
bees would forage. The greatest estimate came from Eckert who studied bees in the desert in the western
United States and reported that they flew up to 13.5km to the nearest irrigated area which was where
flowers were located.
Quote from: Jerrymac on March 09, 2008, 12:18:36 PM
What ever a kilometer is :-\
A kilometer is = 3280.839 8 feet;
A kilometer is = .621 371 miles;
Or roughly: One mile is = 1.6 kilometers
I've read 2 to 3 mile radius normally and up to 5 when food is hard to find.
Quote from: MrILoveTheAnts on March 09, 2008, 01:54:57 PM
I've read 2 to 3 mile radius normally and up to 5 when food is hard to find.
This is what my little voices tell me as well.
...JP
Quote from: Trot on March 09, 2008, 01:19:56 PM
Quote from: Jerrymac on March 09, 2008, 12:18:36 PM
What ever a kilometer is :-\
A kilometer is = 3280.839 8 feet;
A kilometer is = .621 371 miles;
Or roughly: One mile is = 1.6 kilometers
I was just being ugly. I don't like the metric system. Use to the other.
No harm done, Jerrymac...
It might come handy for those who do not know? :-D
Regards,
Trot
Wow! 13.5km is 8.5 miles...
BTW that's 145,267 acres.
I was looking for this other thing I read a few years ago. Seems this guy had some place where there was a desert type place and then a green area next to it. He moved the hives further away from the nectar source. After 4 or 5 miles the bees would start losing storage. The bees had to tank up on food to fly to the forage area and would burn it up flying back.
Can't seem to find it now.
Bees love to forage within 200 km of their hives. During their lifetime the average length of travel is 800 km, then their wings wear out. Be that over 45 days, a month, two weeks, 800 km, their wings are too frayed to fly, just a little trivia, hee, hee, have a wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi
Think it also dependent on some other factors such as temperature, time of year (how many ours of daylight), wind conditions and probably more.
Yes, the whole 'long flight' profitability depends on a whole lot of other factors.
Bees will load up at home, with sufficient fuel to get to the indicated forage.
Loading up at mid range is not an option.
They know very well that they are at peril if that mid flight supply of food dries up/is not there. (No way forward and no way back)
They will not go the distance if the profit is not feasible? They are much like us, not willing to work for free.
(one German study had them flying over water -15 kilometers)
This desert thing is not really a fair trial, cause when they have no other forage but the one which is X number of miles away - they are actually forced to fly there for their survival ! If it is at all possible for them to make something of it?
If they can not safely get there and bring back something for the hive - they will stay home and collectivly starve to death!
(this desert thing? How and where did they load up at 4-5 miles?)
The guy must of had some sugar waiting for them in the desert?
This kind of studies are best performed in Europe where there are regular periods of dearth and where in some other regions there is plenty of forage on buckwheat, heather and/or two kinds of evergreens - hoja/bor....
On those locations the results are precise and true, cause the honey in the hives can be ascertained with total accuracy as to it's source.
One more thing:
Italians are most happy if they can forage within a mile or two. Closest the better.
Carniolans are known as long distance haulers. They have better developed sense of navigation of all our bees....
And I hope that the above surprise at distance is genuine..? Otherwise some booster could be available. :-D
I found it,
http://www.beesource.com/pov/traynor/bcjun2002.htm
DISTANCES HONEY BEES WILL FORAGE
Distance from irrigated area Average change in Hive
(sweet clover and alfalfa) Weight over 18 days
0.0 miles +25.3 pound
0.5 31.6
1.0 23.3
1.5 21.3
2.0 18.1
3.0 13.8
4.0 5.1
5.0 -3.0
6.0 -6.2
7.0 -8.6
I was talking to Dee Lusby's father-in-law the other day and he was talking about how they had to learn keeping bees in the desert that you never put them more than 1/4 mile from water. Closer is better. Otherwise they spend so much energy hauling water that they don't make a crop. :)
From watching bees fly on windy days, I'd have to say bees are very good at working the currents. They will use the wind when it's to their advantage and avoid it when it's not by flying higher, lower or different routes. I'm sure this works better in uneven and forested terrain and not as well in flat open areas.
Where does one find water in the desert? I have 20 acres in the desert down close to the Big Bend National Park and unless it has rained recently there is no water.
Around here the bees hug the ground using weeds and grass as wind breaks. I wonder sometimes if they are actually dragging their legs on the ground they are so low.
>Where does one find water in the desert? I have 20 acres in the desert down close to the Big Bend National Park and unless it has rained recently there is no water.
Where the Lusby bees are there is cattle. Where there is cattle there is water. But it's sparse and you need to be close to it. Most of them are close to some water tank that has a well feeding it and there are boards floating in the tank for the bees to land on.
One guy with money close to my place drilled a well something around 12,000 feet and spent (I think) close to a half million bucks, and never hit water.
There are places closer to the mountains that do get water wells with in 5,000 feet I believe it is. I haven't been down there in a while but I have heard that AHB are nesting in most of the abandoned travel trailers and such down there. And many years ago (1998, 1999) I saw a swarm fly by. I have been thinking of getting down there and see how things are and possibly set up some nives to see what happens.
Quote from Jerymac:
I haven't been down there in a while but I have heard that AHB are nesting in most of the abandoned travel trailers and such down there. And many years ago (1998, 1999) I saw a swarm fly by. I have been thinking of getting down there and see how things are and possibly set up some nives to see what happens.
[/quote]
Sounds like the prelude to a good horror flick. And there used to be people down there but they all disappeared, rather mysteriously...Nothing but AHB down there now, maybe I'll go down there and check it out. Nuh uh, no way no how, I ain't gone down there Jerry, you're on your own!
...JP
Quote from: JP on March 12, 2008, 12:02:06 AM
Nuh uh, no way no how, I ain't gone down there Jerry, you're on your own!
There is a word for that. Let's see now what was it :?
Oh yeah....
Chicken :-D
Quote from: Jerrymac on March 12, 2008, 12:08:21 AM
Quote from: JP on March 12, 2008, 12:02:06 AM
Nuh uh, no way no how, I ain't gone down there Jerry, you're on your own!
There is a word for that. Let's see now what was it :?
Oh yeah....
Chicken :-D
Actually I was thinking Duck.
...JP