Our county beekeeping association is working to convince a local city council to overturn a current beekeeping ban.  One of the Commissioners is concerned with the bees flight path over adjacent properties. One of the recommendations we are considering, based on the advice found in some of the urban/suburban beekeeping references, will likely be requiring a 6' fence, hedge, or similar barrier a few feet in front of the hive entrance if the property/apiary does not meet setback requirements. The bees then supposedly fly over the barrier and above the head of most people.  However, the Commissioner is likely going to want some references/proof indicating this is effective, and I have not been able to find any studies on this.  I have found references to flight direction, foraging area, swarm migration, drone congregation, queen mating flight, etc., but no studies on how high foragers typically fly (if there is a typical height).
I've searched the archives with no success.  Can anybody point to any references on forager flight paths, particularly addressing how high they fly?

Dan O'Callaghan
Irish Hill Farm
Xenia, OH


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