Do bees know time?

[BlueBee]

Do you think bees simply respond only to the current environment, or do you think they know the seasons/time and plan for the future?

I have read some people debate that bees simply respond to the current environment and don't really set out to plan for the future.  If there is nectar and pollen, they collect it and build up.  If there is a dearth they stop brooding and just sit around until the environment gets better.  

I tend to believe bees know the seasons and plan ahead, but of coarse I don't know.  My bees are currently bringing in a ton of pollen, but that's been available here all summer long (no dearth here), why get so focused on pollen now???

In my own human way, I think they somehow know that winter is getting very close and they're planning and storing pollen for their next big spring buildup.  But then again, how would bees just born in the summer have any idea of what winter is, or when it comes?

What do you think?  Do bees know the seasons and plan ahead, or just do they respond to the current stimuli?

[tefer2]

I think all animals sense the different seasons, how else would they know when to store feed for winter.
My gals are bringing in Goldenrod pollen by the truck load right now also.

[G3farms]

I think all animals AND plants can tell the different seasons by the duration of the sun light each day.

[yockey5]

I believe they simply respond to the seasonal stimuli as they were created by God to do.

[tefer2]

I have been keeping track of day light length this summer http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/Michigan.asp

[stella]

Yes, I believe that they know.
Mother Nature wouldnt work out as well as it does if the creatures (and the flora) couldnt sense the changing seasons. Light has a large impact on that and sets the tone for putting on fat, hoarding (squirrels), mating (deer), gathering nectar (bees) and the like.
If the creatures werent triggered by the change of season to be well prepared, they wouldnt make it through the winters, and the species wouldnt survive.

Im preparing too! Canning and freezing up a storm!

[Michael Bush]

The colony (the superorganism) seems capable of making some fairly complex decisions in many variable situations and sometimes one colony makes a different decision than another with the same circumstances.  This is more than just a simple reaction to a simple stimulus.  So I guess I tend to view the colony as having some kind of awareness.  Individual bees, on the other hand, if you observe them do not seem to have that same level of awareness.  I would tend to doubt that a given bee has that kind of perception, but the colony seems to.

[Martin]

i've been taught that the queen sets just about all schedules in the hive with her laying. she can determine what to do based on the length of daylight hours . in spring after the winter solstice ( spelling ? ) the daylight becomes longer thus signaling spring build-up , just as shorter days signal fall.

[Michael Bush]

>i've been taught that the queen sets just about all schedules in the hive with her laying. she can determine what to do based on the length of daylight hours

I'm sure a lot of people have that theory.  Having watched the bees and the queens for hours and hours over years and years in the observation hive in my living room, I disagree.  It appears to me that the workers decide if the queen will lay by backfilling with nectar or preparing the cells.  They will remove eggs if she lays more then they want or where they don't want.  They control how much she lays and where she lays.  I do agree that the days getting shorter or longer are one of the stimulus for the workers to decide this, but I don't believe the queen decides it.

[BjornBee]

Almost all insects, bird, and animals, respond to environmental changes. Of course environmental changes also include seasonal timing such as daylight hours etc.

Birds, for instance, will raise additional nests in times of plenty. Some species raise several nests in good year. And perhaps one in bad years.

Ever hear someone suggest that swarming was higher this year, or that swarming was delayed upon colder spring temps than normal? Of course we did. Bees do not just go off and say to themselves that "It's Time" and fly out without concerns for local conditions. They respond to conditions. And they multiply at a time when nectar flow is heavy. And even though you may have hives with peak numbers in July, swarming decreases once nectar flow halts.

But do bees also rely on such things as the summer solstice? Sure. Swarming really slows once the days begin to shorten. Even queen rearing is impacted.

But does that mean that natural instincts such as perpetuation of species, stops, if the conditions are right, the nectar flow is heavy, and the natural urge to multiply is there? While there is certainly a bell shaped curve to swarm seasons, keep bees long enough and you will have summer swarms.

I think this question is a "black or white" question. And with bees, trying to suggest it's one or the other, is always fool hardy task.

I see huge differences between what bees do with flows and the season. Some bees shut down in a dearth, while other brood all summer. Some brood far into winter, and others do not. So even between strains of bees, there is no clear answer.

Studies in the 70's clearly showed that swarming was very closely coorelated to flows. And why would it not? Most insects respond to food stimuli. Throw in the fact that bees are also bred one place, transported to other areas, that they have deep ingrained instincts that are probably there from eons ago when they were in more temperate climates, and it a wonder they even know what to do.

They plan, respond, and perpetuate based on many things. It's not a "In the box" type answer.

For the studies I reference, some of this info can be found in this book ISBN: 0-936028-09-2

[Scadsobees]

I know I respond to the seasons, albeit somewhat unconsciously.  I'm starting to get over the easy lazy summer days and am going into cleaning/storing mode.  I'm sure it has something to to with not only our schedules but also with the length of days and temperature.

I don't notice it until I start to pay attention and realize how wound up I am and how much I have to get done really soon before fall hits.