The bee has an amazing sense of smell.

[Lesgold]

Hi folks,

I?ve never really given it much thought but a bee has an amazing sense of smell. I notice it all the time but generally just dismiss it. When ever I warm honey, I give it a stir on a regular basis to mix the crystallised honey through. Every time I open a bucket of honey to perform this task, bees come buzzing around to investigate within seconds of the lid being removed. If I melt down wax in the shed, I can hear bees as soon as the wax starts to melt. I suppose this sense of smell is vital to help them to source nectar supplies for the hive.

[The15thMember]

It's true, its something that's often overlooked.  I only really thought about it for the first time when my dad asked me once how bees find flowers when they are out searching for nectar.  I was like, "Well I guess it's smell and sight, but let me double check, because weirdly I'm not sure!"    This time of year I often clean frames out in front of my garage, and if there is even a tiny bit of honey in the frame I'm cleaning, the bees will be there to investigate in minutes.   

[Lesgold]

They say that a bees sense of smell is 100x as good as ours. That?s pretty good really. I reckon I can smell a good pizza cooking from about 100 yards?.. With a breeze blowing in the right direction, I can also smell the nectar being ripened by the bees at quite a distance. Just imagine what our little friends can do.

[Ben Framed]

Im not attempting to change the subject, just adding, Humming Birds must have a great sense of smell for nectar also.
They 'love' our Hibiscus and readily find them (when in season).

Phillip

[TheHoneyPump]

It is really not much different from how quickly the neighbours drop by to chat when the Bar-BQ is light and warming up (smoking a bit).
That said, yes it is amazing how quickly bees can show up and promptly drown themselves in the nozzle stream of fresh syrup refilling a bucket.

[The15thMember]

Im not attempting to change the subject, just adding, Humming Birds must have a great sense of smell for nectar also.
They 'love' our Hibiscus and readily find them (when in season).

Phillip

I think hummingbirds find flowers and feeders mostly by sight.  Most birds have a poor sense of smell. 

It is really not much different from how quickly the neighbours drop by to chat when the Bar-BQ is light and warming up (smoking a bit).
That said, yes it is amazing how quickly bees can show up and promptly drown themselves in the nozzle stream of fresh syrup refilling a bucket.

Or plunge into a batch of melting wax.    I learned the hard way I need to have a splatter screen over the crock pot when I melt wax on the porch. 

[Ben Framed]

"It is really not much different from how quickly the neighbours drop by to chat when the Bar-BQ is light and warming up (smoking a bit)."

Ha ha Good simile! 

Phillip

[Ben Framed]

"I think hummingbirds find flowers and feeders mostly by sight.  Most birds have a poor sense of smell.  "

Maybe so 🤷🏼‍♂️, The Humming Bird is a 'unique' bird. I have never studied it but I do find its amazing how they can find our few Hibiscus out here any kind of way, or either method (Smell or Sight). 😊 Especially when many 'subdivision' folks feed them making easy food access for them.  I wonder if they might prefer Hibiscus and seek it out.. lol

Les I hope you don't mind the humming bird additional talk on your topic, they both feed on nectar, both Bird and Insect.

Phillip

[The15thMember]

Especially when many 'subdivision' folks feed them making easy food access for them.  I wonder if they might prefer Hibiscus and seek it out.. lol

Perhaps the hibiscus has a more sugar-rich nectar than the standard 1:4 syrup people put in their feeders.  That would make the hummers prefer it, since it's more calorie-dense.  And calories are extremely important to hummingbirds, as they have the fastest metabolism of any animal.  They need to eat 1.5-3x their body weight every day, which means they are only hours from starving to death at any given time.  Hummingbirds have to enter a hibernation-like state called torper just to sleep at night without starving to death!

Les I hope you don't mind the humming bird additional talk on your topic, they both feed on nectar, both Bird and Insect.

Sorry, Les, but I can't resist a good animal fact opportunity! 
 

[Ben Framed]

Especially when many 'subdivision' folks feed them making easy food access for them.  I wonder if they might prefer Hibiscus and seek it out.. lol

Perhaps the hibiscus has a more sugar-rich nectar than the standard 1:4 syrup people put in their feeders.  That would make the hummers prefer it, since it's more calorie-dense.  And calories are extremely important to hummingbirds, as they have the fastest metabolism of any animal.  They need to eat 1.5-3x their body weight every day, which means they are only hours from starving to death at any given time.  Hummingbirds have to enter a hibernation-like state called torper just to sleep at night without starving to death!

Les I hope you don't mind the humming bird additional talk on your topic, they both feed on nectar, both Bird and Insect.

Sorry, Les, but I can resist a good animal fact opportunity! 

Thank you again Reagan for you thoroughness and finding answering my 'many' questions, along with answering other members questions as well! You are a true "asset" to Beemaster Forums!  IMHO

Phillip