Bee navigation question

[DaveKow]

I was wondering, if bees navigate using the sun, how do they do it when it is cloudy?

[Bennettoid]

GPS

[KONASDAD]

side note on this issue. recently I watched as two swarms left before I could get them. I noticed, immediately before they took off, hundreds of bees doing a very idnetical waggle dance. Then thousands were doing dance. they took off about 45 secs later. So later that day, i get another call and when i puill up the homeowner is watching them. I immediately noticed them all begining to do waggle dance. I said to homeowner,"watch, they're going to take off soon." Sure enough about 45 secs later, zooooooommmmmmm. what a sight. Homeowner was very impressed. I was too! moments like that make beekeeping so very awesome!!!!!

[BeeHopper]

I was wondering, if bees navigate using the sun, how do they do it when it is cloudy?

They can still see the different spectrums of LIGHT even through clouds or overcast.  :)

[Michael Bush]

Bees navigate with a number of methods.  One is from the sun.  One is by landmarks.  One is by smell.  When it's cloudy they shift to landmarks.  But they know the location of the sun even in the middle of the night when it's on the other side of the planet.  Check out the waggle dance info and you'll see they know exactly where it is when it's not in the sky.

[Brian D. Bray]

Bees navigate with a number of methods.  One is from the sun.  One is by landmarks.  One is by smell.  When it's cloudy they shift to landmarks.  But they know the location of the sun even in the middle of the night when it's on the other side of the planet.  Check out the waggle dance info and you'll see they know exactly where it is when it's not in the sky.

Having both pigeons and bees I've come to realize that they both use the same principle when navigating.  Besides what MB mentioned, there also seems to be a magnetic or electrical field component as well.  Near radar installations both can become disoriented for a short period.  When the E6E Prowlers (radar jamming aircraft) are conductiing tests both get confused.  If I release the pigeons near an airport that has radar they will circle for about 30 minutes before they get their bearings.

[Kev]

The sky has naturally occurring patterns of polarized light that the bees can see but humans cannot. They don't need to be able to see the whole sky to be able to detect the pattern. And remember, many wavelengths of light easily penetrate clouds. (Ever get a sunburn on a cloudy day?) Bees aren't the only critters that can see polarized light and make use of it.

Below, I posted a link to an overview of polarized light. I've linked to the article on bees which summarizes some research by a scientist named Frisch, who apparently was able to change the direction of the waggle dance by replacing the sun with a lamp. (If this experiment can be replicated or has in the years since it was published, it would prove that the bees rely on vision, not electomagnetism to orient themselves to the sun).

http://www.polarization.com/bees/bees.html

Kev

BTW, the most recent critter to be found to be able to see polarized light is the mantis shrimp, which can see circularly polarized light, rather unusual in the animal kingdom.