>On Sat, 26 Mar 1994 Nick Wallingford ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>
>> What is the longest distance that honeybees have been known to
>> fly in search of forage?
>>
>> Here in NZ we often use 3-5 km in describing the area around a
>> hive that bees are likely to travel.
>>
>> I do recall, however, a description of bees found to have flown 8
>> miles (?) from their hive in the course of some alfalfa research.
>> The researcher was using the Cordovan strain as a marker for some
>> reason in the experiment, and found bees from those hives in
>> fields at the known distance from the only possible source of the
>> bees.
>>
>> Does anyone know that reference?  Alternatively, what other
>> references are there to substantiated long distance foraging?
 
 
   The reference you requested is as follows:  Eckert, J.E.  1933.  The
flight range of the honey bee.  JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH.
47:257-285.
 
   Eckert's results are very good, but researchers generally quote only his
long-distance figures.  His results are in table form -- I re-analyzed them
and found that not everything is as quoted.  Although a few fees from
colonies foraged great distances, the important point was whether the
colony could gain weight when it was more than a certain distance from its
primary food source.
 
   In one study, colonies more than 1-2 km fared poorly.  In another study
(a large alfalfa acreage), colonies profited to some degree as far as 5-6
km away.  In yet another study, it was evident that foraging was primarily
in one direction from the colony (presumably upwind), even though fields
were located in all directions from the colonies.
 
   All of this, of course, depends on how severe the competition is.  When
far too many colonies are in an area, colony foraging becomes restricted to
relatively short distances.
 
   If I can find time, I would like to publish Eckert's results in graphic
form, because the importance of his results would then be more obvious.
 
                                                        Adrian
 
 
***************************************************************
* Adrian Wenner        E-Mail   [log in to unmask]  *
* Department of Biology        Office Phone    (805) 893-2838 *
* University of California     Lab Phone       (805) 893-2838 *
* Santa Barbara, CA  93106     FAX             (805) 893-4724 *
***************************************************************