Just before varroa arrived in the UK our National Bee Unit, which at that 
time was situated just down the road from me, did some tests on drifting. 
They marked large numbers of bees in their home apiary and then went looking 
for them in the surrounding area.  They found them all over the district - 
certainly up to one and a half miles away as I recall.
Would be a simple experiment to reproduce in your area if you want to know 
the truth.

Best wishes

Peter
52.194546, -1.673618 

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