Just went out and sat with my bees for 20 minutes. It's 61, sunny and breezy here and both hives are very active. I sat in the sun maybe 10 feet from the hive, and noticed an occasional bee would land in the grass beside me, so I picked one up and watched her.
I assumed she was warming up, so I cupped my hands around her and held her in the sun. As I watched, she proceeded to groom herself, as she slowly turned around in the sun. A few bits of pollen fell off during the process. Toward the end, she vibrated her abdomen for a bit, then took off.
Another I picked up had full pollen baskets. She did mostly the same thing without losing her pollen, then took off after it appeared she had warmed up. Later a couple landed on me and sunned/groomed themselves.
I'm not sure which way these bees were going - but my guess is they were on their way in from the field. This sound right?
Is this just a "warming up" behavior? Do they do this both going out and coming in? It was fun watching them - I might go back out again later for another break from work
-Pete
I assumed she was warming up, so I cupped my hands around her and held her in the sun. As I watched, she proceeded to groom herself, as she slowly turned around in the sun. A few bits of pollen fell off during the process. Toward the end, she vibrated her abdomen for a bit, then took off.
Another I picked up had full pollen baskets. She did mostly the same thing without losing her pollen, then took off after it appeared she had warmed up. Later a couple landed on me and sunned/groomed themselves.
I'm not sure which way these bees were going - but my guess is they were on their way in from the field. This sound right?
Is this just a "warming up" behavior? Do they do this both going out and coming in? It was fun watching them - I might go back out again later for another break from work

-Pete