Like Clockwork ...

[FatherMichael]

Every day, except when it's raining, new foragers take their orientation flights 5-5:30.

It's amazing!

[BeeMaster2]

It?s also very good. It tells you how many bees hatched 3 weeks ago.
Jim Altmiller

[FatherMichael]

It?s also very good. It tells you how many bees hatched 3 weeks ago.
Jim Altmiller

Yes, original nuc cells that emerged were filled with larvae when I last looked.  There was a drawn frame of foundation that was beginning to be filled with brood -- good queen -- laid eggs as soon as comb was available.  she is a Golden Italian and I see some of her light brood at the entrance -- very pretty bees.  Yet some of my bees are almost all black!

So, thankful for a strong, healthy hive at this point and looking forward to expansion next spring.

These were Italians for the garden hive in our back yard.

Plan get two nucs of Texan bees from Gary next time to put in the country where my nephew has Mesquite and Cotton.  In this case Texan means feral bees that are good at hive defense, probably with African genes.

Will sign up as soon as he starts taking orders: http://thebeeplace.com/2019/Nucs.htm

[Beelab]

Every day, except when it's raining, new foragers take their orientation flights 5-5:30.

It's amazing!

I assume the timing for orientation flights depends on sunset time. 5pm would be rather late where I am in Australia. Here it happens 3 - 4pm in summer and about 12.30pm in winter.
True though, it?s like clockwork after considering the sun cycle.
The bees take orientation in relation to the sun.
I think Rudolf Steiner said bees are sun beings.

[FatherMichael]

I think Rudolf Steiner said bees are sun beings.

That seems exactly the case.

[van from Arkansas]

Brother Michael:  good to hear your bees are doing so well.  Keep us posted.

Some thoughts:
The sun is everything to a honey bee when it come to navigation.  The waggle dance directional point is based on position of the sun and the bees account for the time of day.  As we know the morning, mid day, and afternoon sun are in different positions and the bees understand this and account for changes in sun movements with their waggle dance.  Actually the sun is not moving, the earth is.

The bees fly back to the hive not so much by eye site rather by a built in gps which is thought to be based on magnetic fields if the earth.  Want to test this:  stand close to the front of the entrance, say 6 feet and you will be slammed by returning bees because they are not looking.  Also, move a hive just 6 feet and bees will return to the original empty hive position and circle.  The hive can be just a single isolated hive with no other hives around to cause confusion.  One can look and easily tell it the same hive, just moved only 6 feet but the bees trust their gps more than eyesite.  Eventually the bees will figure out the hive was moved but not before circling many minutes trying to figure why the hive is not where it is supposed to be.

To be clear, I am not saying bees do not use their eyes, certainly for landmarks, flowers, to chase the beekeeper, etc.  I am saying GPS is a majority navigation system relied upon by the bees.

BTW, honeybees have five eyes, two large and 3 little tiny eyes.

Blessings

[Bob Wilson]

Maybe it's not clockwork...
My hive seems to be making orientation flights in the mid morning sometimes also. Is this strange?

[Donovan J]

Mine do orientation flights much earlier at around 2. That may be just a ton of foragers though. My hive is booming right now so not sure.

[BeeMaster2]

Xerox,
You are probably right about it being foragers at 2:00. The difference is foragers are coming straight in and slowing down to land and taking off and heading straight out. Orientating bees come out facing the hive and do larger and larger circles, the whole time looking at the hive. They then return doing the same.
Watch and learn the difference so that you know what it looks like and you can then know what isn?t robbing. . Robbing is bees coming in, usually trying to enter anywhere the smell of the hive comes out, including going under the hive that has SBBs and cracks around lids and supers.
Jim Altmiller

[Donovan J]

Xerox,
You are probably right about it being foragers at 2:00. The difference is foragers are coming straight in and slowing down to land and taking off and heading straight out. Orientating bees come out facing the hive and do larger and larger circles, the whole time looking at the hive. They then return doing the same.
Watch and learn the difference so that you know what it looks like and you can then know what isn?t robbing. . Robbing is bees coming in, usually trying to enter anywhere the smell of the hive comes out, including going under the hive that has SBBs and cracks around lids and supers.
Jim Altmiller

I usually come down every hour or so to watch the hive. I feel the tops of the lids and am surprised about how hot they are. I do little experiments and help bees that dropped too early in front of the hive that are full of nectar. I haven't seen any robbing yet and am told that it is more common in August.

[Ben Framed]

Brother Michael:  good to hear your bees are doing so well.  Keep us posted.

Some thoughts:
The sun is everything to a honey bee when it come to navigation.  The waggle dance directional point is based on position of the sun and the bees account for the time of day.  As we know the morning, mid day, and afternoon sun are in different positions and the bees understand this and account for changes in sun movements with their waggle dance.  Actually the sun is not moving, the earth is.

The bees fly back to the hive not so much by eye site rather by a built in gps which is thought to be based on magnetic fields if the earth.  Want to test this:  stand close to the front of the entrance, say 6 feet and you will be slammed by returning bees because they are not looking.  Also, move a hive just 6 feet and bees will return to the original empty hive position and circle.  The hive can be just a single isolated hive with no other hives around to cause confusion.  One can look and easily tell it the same hive, just moved only 6 feet but the bees trust their gps more than eyesite.  Eventually the bees will figure out the hive was moved but not before circling many minutes trying to figure why the hive is not where it is supposed to be.

To be clear, I am not saying bees do not use their eyes, certainly for landmarks, flowers, to chase the beekeeper, etc.  I am saying GPS is a majority navigation system relied upon by the bees.

BTW, honeybees have five eyes, two large and 3 little tiny eyes.

Blessings

Some good points here Mr Van.

I have observed orientation flights at different times of the day, though I confess I have not put it to the clock and documented the different times. Sometimes AM, and Sometimes PM. I have not noticed a pattern. I have also seen more than one hive orientating at the same time on occasion. As said numerous times, another one of God?s  very interesting creatures. I feel sure that there are still mysteries about the honeybee remaining to be understood of found? Observations such as you all have discovered, helps to understand this Gift even further.
Phillip

[Bob Wilson]

That makes me feel better. I'm sure I have seen them several times orienting in the late morning. Not the straight in and out business flights like the ATL airport, but swooping in and out in circuitous patterns about 1-2 feet around the front of the hive. I thought to myself that it was strange, not being in the afternoon, that maybe something was wrong.

[Ben Framed]

That makes me feel better. I'm sure I have seen them several times orienting in the late morning. Not the straight in and out business flights like the ATL airport, but swooping in and out in circuitous patterns about 1-2 feet around the front of the hive. I thought to myself that it was strange, not being in the afternoon, that maybe something was wrong.

Not from my limited experience bobll. Nothing should be wrong

[Nock]

Mine were doing this afternoon as well.