How far do bees fly from the hive: flight range and how many kilometers they cover

During the flowering of honey plants, bees fly out of the hive daily for nectar and pollen, which are necessary for the full life of a large family. The amount of nectar produced directly depends on the distance covered by working insects. How far insects fly, and how long can bees be away from the hive, we will look at the details below.

What is the average and maximum speed of a bee in km/h

Working individuals that collect treats are born in the middle of spring, and after 2-3 weeks they are able to go for a bribe. Minke whales extract nectar and pollen, from which they harvest honey and bee bread to feed their families during the cold season.

When choosing a place for an apiary, beekeepers calculate the flight range of insects, and how fast they move in various conditions.

Movement speed can vary depending on many reasons:

• weather and climatic factors in the form of rain, gusty winds, high air temperature;
• landscape where insects fly around;
• load of bees with nectar and pollen.

The average speed of a worker without prey is between 30 and 35 km/h. If insects without bribes move against a gusty wind, the indicator drops to 18-20 km / h. With nectar and pollen, the speed of movement in strong winds is reduced to 12-13 km / h.

Under normal conditions, minke whales loaded with prey reach speeds of up to 20-22 km/h. The maximum speed recorded by beekeepers on a flat area of meadows and fields is 60 km/h.

Important! In the presence of a large accumulation of trees and shrubs, minke whales cannot fly quickly, therefore, in the forests, the speed of movement of bees is reduced to 250-300 m/h.

Height and radius

During daylight hours, each working individual makes about 10 flights from the nest, during which it manages to collect up to 2 g of pollen. In the process of moving, the workers spend a lot of strength and energy, and they need constant nourishment, which they receive from the collected nectar. For 1 km of the distance covered, the minke whale eats up to 0.5 mg of the sweet product collected from the flowers.

When placing beehives, beekeepers calculate the radius of flyby of insects, which varies up to 1 to 2 km.

In this case, hardworking flyers easily reach flowering plants and return to the hive with prey without significant losses.

In clear, calm weather, the height of movement of insects flying out of the hive for a bribe is from 8 to 10 m above the ground. After collecting the necessary products, the bees become heavier, so the height when flying to the nest does not exceed the 5-meter mark. In the event of strong and gusty winds, the flight height of insects is reduced to 1 m from the ground.

Interesting! To ensure the maximum collection of bee products, experienced beekeepers purchase mobile hives that are brought close to the place where honey plants bloom.

How far do bees fly from the hive

The flight range of working individuals directly depends on the distance of the apiary from flowering plants. On average, beekeepers expect that insects will have to travel no more than 1-2 km to the place of harvest.But if the bees have found out that there are plants with a high content of pollen and sugar in the nectar in the access zone, they can easily cover a distance of up to 4.5 km from the location of the hives.

Departing from the nest, insects fill the goiter with up to 2 g of food necessary for flight. In the process of collecting nectar, bees from strong colonies can get up to 50 mg of nectar in one flight. The average rate of delicacy production by one individual from an ordinary nest varies from 7.5 to 20 mg.

In well-developed families, working individuals are characterized by excellent endurance and, if necessary, fly up to 10-12 km from the apiary. Usually such sorties provoke flowering in remote areas of clover, forest raspberry, linden, sweet clover, apple and pear.

Important! The flight distance of bees from the apiary is affected by weather conditions and the presence of flowering honey plants.

How many bees fly in a day

During the period of active nectar gathering, the working day of hardworking minke whales begins at sunrise and continues until sunset. Also, bees are able to work in extreme conditions during the full moon or on white nights, but they do this only if suitable honey plants are available.

Depending on the location of the apiary, a flight for valuable products takes one bee from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Then the workers bring the prey to the hive, hand over the collected prey to their fellows and fly back to the fields for the next portion of nectar and pollen.

During a working day, one individual makes about 8-12 sorties, each of which is from 3 to 8 km. Based on such data, it can be calculated that an insect travels from 40 to 90 km per daylight hours.

In the case of collecting nectar from flowering shrubs, workers fly around one plant with many melliferous flowers, which significantly reduces the total distance traveled by insects in a day.

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