Overnight Foraging

[Aspera]

I've noticed that bumblebees frequently seem to camp outside of the nest when doing summer foraging. They just sun themselves, vibrate a bit and carry on once dawn comes. Is this something that honey bees do, or is the night time cold too much for them?

[John Russell]

Honeybees instinctivly try to return to the hive when light starts to fail, because it ensures a better chance of survival. Although straglers do get caught out or if a shaken hive or swarm remenent are to disoriented to drift to selter, they can usually make it through if temperatures are reasonable or they arn't eaten by nocturnal feeding critters.
Bumble bees being larger in size may have more resistance to cold and their social structure leans more to the solitary so perhaps that go home instinct isn't present or as strong?

J.R
honeyb.ca

[BjornBee]

I've seen, and have read, that bees in mid-summer will hand out and spend the night on branches, etc.

I guess they know when it ok to do this temperature wise and all. I have wondered about times when a nighttime thunderstorm rolls through.

There is no doubt I have seen bees hanging out on a branch when it seems they should of had no trouble making it back to the hive. Were these old bees waiting for the end? I don't know.

[power napper]

Aspera--Lots of times see bumbles spending the night on raspberry bushes and sometimes a honey bee too. It gets my attention real fast when I am picking autumn bliss raspberries on a cool fall morning and lean too far pinching a bumble bee that is resting there, they give me a jab in the belly and i back off--quickly. I think that mostly when I see honey bees is when a fast cold front catches them away from the hive, they sure are pretty with all the dew glistening in the morning light.

[Aspera]

Power napper,

I've had that same experience while picking berries. SOmetimes I'll see them first and they give me the bumblebee version of the finger (they raise their middle leg at me). Geuss I should just be glad that I haven't had any bear encounters.

[FordGuy]

I am new at this. I have seen my bees sleep on fence posts, rails, my porch, farm equipment when only a few hundred yards from the hive. I have also seen frozen (seemingly) bees fly away when the sun thawed them out.

[iddee]

If you want to see just how many stay out overnight, just screen the entrance one night and move them 5 or more miles away. You will see many, many bees at the old site the next day.

[BjornBee]

Ok, I'll try iddee. But I hope you buy me a beer if you are proven wrong. Although it snowing out tonight, if I move the bees, I am sure none will be back at the old spot tomorrow.....

[iddee]

If you move bees on a snowy night I think you have already had too many beers. I wouldn't want to contribute more. tongue.gif

But I will buy you one when we can sit outside in our t-shirts and enjoy it, whether I'm right or wrong.

[BjornBee]

If it gets me out of the house with three kids on a saturday night......

Hopefully one day we can have that beer. ;)