workin themselves to death

[CBEE]

Been seeing bees come back loaded with pollen and not quite make it to the hive. several laying dead in front of the hive and seen a few do a nose dive into the ground like B25 bombers that just ran out of gas :shock:

[Cindi]

CBEE.  I have seen some of that type of activity in my hive the other day.   Most of the pollen carriers make it, but yes, sometimes I see them on the ground, dead, too heavy of a load to make it inside.  This even happens during summer.  It is not uncommon for bees to miscalculate the landing board.   I often wonder if the pollen in the fall is more heavy than pollen in summertime.  Maybe so, maybe not, just some food for thought, nothing to back up this statement.

Remember, the foragers are the oldest of the bees.  That is the last duty of their lives.  Many times even, think about this.  These loads may be the last one that they carry, before their eventual death and they just can't quite make it home.  THis is nature.  THis is the way of the bees, we can only wish them well, and thank them for their contribution to make their home full of food.

The other day my Sister told me there was a bee on the gravel and it seemed it couldn't fly.  So, of course with my curious nature, I set out to see what she was talking about. I picked up this little bee and put her into the palm of my hand and took her home.  I put her on the landing board that I thought was probably her home  :) ;) :roll: and she walked into the colony.  One happy little bee that probably would not have made it home.  It made me feel good, it was fun and she was astounded that I wasn't worried about getting a sting from this little girl.  I do these things only because it makes me feel good.  There is no actual purpose, because I know that the tiny little bit that she was trying to bring home would make neither a hither or a dither to the amount of pollen that is required, and I can't do this for all the pollen laden bees, but it was fun.  Have a great and wonderful day, wonderful life.  Cindi

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I've read Goldenrod pollen is much heavier then other forms of pollen (and apparently in no way related to people getting hay fever because of this). But this shouldn't matter with bees, they should be like ants able to carry many times their own body weight. I can't imagen pollen being that heavy for the amount the bees normally carry.
I've also encountered stray bees that can't seem to fly well away from any hives I know of. I wonder if the reduced humidity in the air has anything to do with this.

[CBEE]

Cindy,
I had not seen them crash like that all summer. just started when it turned off colder. The temp was just above 50. Yea, I figured they were the older ones going kaput

Never thought about the humidity making a difference but it does make sense. It has been wet, colder and humid over the last couple weeks.