[log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])   writes:

Except  in very hot climates, honey bees do not forage early in the  
morning.
 
Depends on your definition of HOT.  I've seen bees foraging at crack  of 
dawn, and I've seen bees foraging as low as 45 degrees F - IF there's  
something for them to gather.  
 
When we train bees using a rich proprietary syrup solution in feeders  
external to the hive, we can get the bees to fly and forage over a range of  
temperatures from 45-105 degrees F - so its a matter of whether there's a  
sufficient benefit to flying at the extreme temperatures, not the temperature  
per se.
 
In MT, I'd agree, bees generally don't do anything until about 9 am   BUT  
I've seen bees in semi-arid prairie areas going after specific  plants at 
dawn, and a colleague reported seeing bees on plants in the dunes  along the 
Gulf of Mexico at dawn while out jogging.
 
We once did a study of conditioning bees to pollinate onions.  We had  them 
roaring out the door at crack of dawn into relatively high winds and  
foraging in the fields.  Unconditioned bees waited till mid-morning to  visit the 
umbels. 
 
Jerry

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