Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T06:26:58.926Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The drifting of honey-bees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. B. Free
J. B. Free
Affiliation:
Bee Department, Rothamsted Experimental Station
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

1. Most of the bees which drift do so during their orientation flights and before they become regular foragers.

2. Bees emerging in August and September drift less than those emerging earlier in the year.

3. Drifting varies considerably in different circumstances, and may be extensive.

4. Drones drift two to three times as frequently as workers.

5. An individual bee is more likely to drift from a small to a large colony than vice versa, but the greater number of bees flying from the large colonies may result in a net gain in bees by the smaller ones.

6. When hives are arranged in repetitive patterns, bees drift to hives occupying similar positions in the pattern to their own. When hives are arranged in rows, bees from the centre colonies drift more than those at the end, resulting in the latter colonies gaining numerically. In some circumstances, more bees drift to hives in one direction than in the opposite direction.

7. Facing hives in different directions and painting them different colours considerably reduces drifting, the facing of hives in different directions being of the greater significance.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , December 1958 , pp. 294 - 306
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1958

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bailey, L. (1955). Ann. Appl. Biol. 43, 379–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, L. (1958). Bee World, 39, 92–5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Betts, A. D. (1932). Bee World, 13, 70–1Google Scholar
Beutler, R. (1950). Leipzig. Bienenztg, 64, 95–7Google Scholar
Borchert, A. (1928 a). Arch. Bienenk. 9, 115–177.Google Scholar
Borchert, A. (1928 b). Dtsch. Bienenz. 36, 356–62.Google Scholar
Butler, C. G. & Free, J. B. (1952). Behaviour, 4, 262–92CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cale, G. H. (1949). The Hive and the Honeybee, ch. 9. Ed. by Grant, R. A.Hamilton, Illinois: Dadant.Google Scholar
Corkins, C. L. (1932). Bull. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Sta. 190, 1–22Google Scholar
Free, J. B. (1958). Brit. J. Anim. Behav. (in the Press).Google Scholar
Free, J. B. & Butler, C. G. (1958). Bee World, 39, 40–2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisch, K. von (1914). Zool. Jb. (Abt. 3), 35, 1–188.Google Scholar
Frisch, K. Von (1950). Bees, Their Vision, Chemical Senses, and Language. New York: Cornell.Google Scholar
Frisch, K. Von (1954). The Dancing Bees. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Goetze, G. (1954). Leipzig. Bienenztg. (West.), 68, 223–5Google Scholar
Kalmus, H. & Ribbands, C. R. (1952). Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 140, 50–9.Google Scholar
King, G. E. (1929). 29th Ann. Rep. Illinois State Beekeepers Ass.Google Scholar
Koch, P. (1934). Kurmärk. Imker, 24, 333–5Google Scholar
Livenetz, T. P. (1951). Pchelovodstvo (1), 25–30.Google Scholar
Lotmar, R. (1942). Schweiz. Bienenztg. 65, 463–8.Google Scholar
Nekrasov, V. U. (1949). Pchelovodstvo (3), 177–84.Google Scholar
Otto, F. T. (1928). Leipzig. Bienenztg. 10, 203–6, 225–8, 245–9.Google Scholar
Rauschmayer, F. (1928). Arch. Bienenk. 9, 249–322.Google Scholar
Ribbands, C. R. (1953). The Behaviour and Social Life of Honeybees. London: Bee Research Association.Google Scholar
Root, A. I., Root, E. R., Root, H. H. & Deyell, H. H. (1945). The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture. Medina, Ohio: Root.Google Scholar
Sturtevant, A. P. (1949). The Hive and the Honeybee, ch. 23. Ed. by Grant, R. A.Hamilton, Illinois: Dadant.Google Scholar
Wadey, H. G. J. (1944). Bee World, 25, 59–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar