cleansing flights

[Vance G]

I had to take a non volunteer ten year old grandson out to work bees yesterday and he decided that he would be adequately armored in my beesuit where his feet came just far enough below the crotch he could walk.   O set him on the tail gate and started putting pollen patties on nucs and some wet supers on the full size colonies.   It was the first sunny day after four straight days of rain and bees by the hundred came and perched on that clean white suit on the tail gate.  He was unnerved by them pumping there abdomens!  He got it in his head they were marking him with pheromones for a later deadly attack although he had to admit there were no signs of aggression. 

But what really struck me was the number of really young fuzzy bees out cleansing.   I have always wondered when newly emerged bees would need to take a first cleansing flight.   After all they are eating lots of pollen containing solids.  Am I just a slow learner/observer or are these young bees out cleansing a common occurance? 

[GSF]

I've had a lot of orientation flights going the last couple of days.