How long a bee's tongue?

[greenbtree]

Just wondering how long a bee's tongue is.  I assume some flowers are too deep and narrow for them to reach to remove nectar?  I have TONS of Wild Bergamot around me, but don't see the honeybees working it.  The Bumblebees are on it though.  I was wondering if the individual flowerets were too deep and narrow for honeybees?  Or maybe the honeybees have just found something easier somewhere else.  I have six hives now and I still don't see bees working my property.  They all exit the hive, go high and take off for parts unknown. :-D

JC

[FRAMEshift]

The bees go after the type of nectar they want at the moment.  Doesn't mean they can reach it.    One of the reasons for the use of enlarged cell foundation was to make bigger bees with tongues long enough to feed from purple clover.  Don't know if it worked.

[slacker361]

The bees go after the type of nectar they want at the moment.  Doesn't mean they can reach it.    One of the reasons for the use of enlarged cell foundation was to make bigger bees with tongues long enough to feed from purple clover.  Don't know if it worked.

with a enlarged cell foundation, how big can you get a bee? could we raise them to be the size of a grasshopper ?

[FRAMEshift]

with a enlarged cell foundation, how big can you get a bee? could we raise them to be the size of a grasshopper ?

The 5.4mm cells have 30% more volume than a 4.9mm cell.  If I read BWrangler's work correctly, those larger bees weigh 30% more... although they are NOT 30% bigger if you measure each of their dimensions.  As to how big you could go, I guess we are there if you believe that the current mite problems are a result of cell size.  The 5.4 mm cells are not completely out of the normal range of cell sizes.  The issue is that ALL the cells are that size.  I don't know if anyone has succeeded in making a bee from cells totally outside the normal range of variation.

[Michael Bush]

http://www.beesource.com/files/lusby-influence-cell-size-3.jpg

[Michael Bush]

http://books.google.com/books?id=i0PoSYNEsh0C&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=baudoux+cell+size+tongue&source=bl&ots=hrfXWnLiab&sig=nhNQlukFBwA8gwQp50FylGQHvug&hl=en&ei=1TFZTIyAOoXgnAeRyfmuCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=baudoux%20cell%20size%20tongue&f=false