From an earlier email (from a thread more concerned with what drives drift, and how high we are finding drift rates are), below...then I guess half a mile is thinly spread enough such that bees did not have to develop "not drifting" skills? Such that these days, if you pass by any hive when you have a full forager load, you just go home to it. 

Does a half a mile reflects historical wild spacings? I am guessing honey bees don't really want to swarm off very far, as their fuel tank capacity is limited and the further they go the higher the risk in establishing a successful new home.




>>Janet Wilson wrote:

>>"Perhaps bees in the wild were spread thinly enough on the landscape that they did not have to develop fine tuned "what is my >>home" skills.? They were oriented to their nest, the nest was not moved, and it would be unusual to encounter another hive nearby."

>>Generally 'wild' colonies tend to spread themselves about half a mile apart.  My own observations agree with Tom Seeley's on >>this.There are occasional exceptions but they are rare.
>>Chris
           

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