Bee Behavior & Communication

Key Takeaways As a beekeeper, one of the most important things you can do for your hives is to prevent honey bee robbing. Robbing behavior occurs when bees from one hive try to steal honey from another hive. This can cause a significant decrease in honey production, and even lead to the loss of entire […]

Bees communicate through a combination of dances, pheromones, and vibrations. The most famous is the “waggle dance,” used by forager bees to inform hive mates about the direction and distance to sources of nectar and pollen. Pheromones are chemical signals for various purposes, including marking paths, identifying colony members, and signaling distress. Vibrations or “piping”

Honey bees can fly at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour (24 kilometers per hour) when foraging or returning to the hive with nectar and pollen. The below paragraphs offer a more detailed look at the topic of how fast bees fly… Key Takeaways If you have ever had a bee chase you,

Honey bees exhibit a defensive behavior when they perceive a threat to their hive. Beekeepers, despite their efforts to manage hives carefully, are not immune to bee stings. The bees’ instinct to protect their hive and queen can lead them to sting intruders, including beekeepers. However, experienced beekeepers often develop techniques to minimize agitation and

In winter, bees focus on survival, clustering inside their hives to maintain warmth. They form a tight group, known as a winter cluster, with the queen at the center. The bees on the outer edges of the cluster insulate those within, and they periodically switch places to ensure everyone stays warm. Worker bees consume stored

Bumblebees can sting, but unlike honeybees, they don’t lose their stinger and die after stinging. They are generally less aggressive and more likely to sting when provoked. Their stingers lack barbs, allowing them to sting multiple times if necessary. Nonetheless, bumblebees usually sting only in defense of themselves or their nest. Despite being generally harmless,

Yes, bees can engage in fights with each other, primarily when defending their hive against intruders, including bees from other colonies. Such conflicts are a part of their natural behavior to protect their resources and queen. For instance, guard bees at the hive entrance are known to challenge and fight off bees from other hives

Bees stop collecting pollen as temperatures drop, usually in late fall, when flowers become scarce. They rely instead on stored honey and pollen in the hive to survive through winter, resuming their foraging activities in spring as temperatures rise and flowers bloom again. A healthy, averaged-sized bee colony is likely to bring in around a

Bees bearding in cool weather is a fascinating behavior, often misunderstood as swarming. This phenomenon usually occurs when the hive is overcrowded or overheated. Even in cooler temperatures, bees may beard at the hive’s entrance to regulate the internal temperature and allow proper ventilation. It’s a sign of a strong, active colony but can also

Bees crawl on the ground often due to exhaustion or when they are nearing the end of their life. They may be struggling from a lack of energy after failing to find sufficient nectar, or they might be disoriented due to exposure to pesticides. Additionally, environmental factors like cold temperatures can weaken bees, making flight