Do honey bees and bumble bees prefer different food sources?

[Sanctuary]

As far as I can tell, the bees from my hive are flying off towards fields of rapeseed in flower. Whereas close to the hive I have rows of raspberries and blackcurrents. Those plants are just starting to flower, and are well covered in bumble bees. Which is great, but the honey bees don't seem interested. Are the habits of honey and bumble bees that different? Or do honey bees prefer more mature flowers?

 

[Ben90]

Honeybees tend not to forage in the immediate vicinity of the hive.

 

[Suzi Q]

Sometimes I wish there were not quite so many bumble bees as there are on our allotments, then the honey bees would have more forage! Really the place is covered with bumbles, of all sorts, thousands! It is wonderful to see, maybe they are competing for the available resources with honey bees?

 

[oliver90owner]

Are the habits of honey and bumble bees that different?

Of course. Maybe you have not noticed timings and the fact that bumbles only collect sufficient honey for their summer needs, so don't store any large amounts. They (each strain of bumble) have different mouth parts for utilising different flowers. There are lots of other differences, too.

Or do honey bees prefer more mature flowers?

All bees colect forage from those that are actively producing it in adequate quantity; nothing to do with being more, or less, mature. By the same token flowers do not produce forage unless mature and then it is limited by the prevailing conditions, amongst other factors.

 

[drstitson]

bumblebees tend to be evolved for specific forage and you'll only see specific species around for short times.

and as above - bumblies aren't storing huge amounts.

 

[madasafish]

Honeybees tend not to forage in the immediate vicinity of the hive.

Mine do.

Phacelia, poppies, blue pelargoniums, poached egg plant, all covered in honey and bumble bees.

 

[pargyle]

Mine do.

Phacelia, poppies, blue pelargoniums, poached egg plant, all covered in honey and bumble bees.

With a lawn as good as yours why would they want to go slumming in someone else's back yard ? (That's a compliment ! - for a change !!)

 

[Finman]

Honeybees tend not to forage in the immediate vicinity of the hive.

Yes, average 2 kilometres
.

 

[Finman]

Really the place is covered with bumbles, of all sorts, thousands! ?

It means that they are short of food when they cumulate into allotment.

Thousands?

I have seen bumbles on red clover.
First when I looked the 6 hectare field, I saw one bumble. Next week fireweed stopped blooming, I calculated 4 bumbles/ square meter.

Hectare has 10 000 square meters, 6 hectares 60 000 and 4 bees on it
= 240 000 bumbles on one field.

 

[Winker]

As far as I can tell, the bees from my hive are flying off towards fields of rapeseed in flower. Whereas close to the hive I have rows of raspberries and blackcurrents. Those plants are just starting to flower, and are well covered in bumble bees. Which is great, but the honey bees don't seem interested. Are the habits of honey and bumble bees that different? Or do honey bees prefer more mature flowers?

My bees fly over everything to get to the OSR. Its only once the OSR has finished they look at other plants. But as its been said above by Ben90, I don't think they work anything directly outside the hive other than robbing their neighbouring hives

 

[Erichalfbee]

So much for honeybees pollinating allotment plants,then?

 

[BeeJayBee]

Honeybees tend not to forage in the immediate vicinity of the hive.

I think some do, but they find it hard to tell the rest of the colony where they're foraging. I think somebody (was it Seeley?) says that the waggle dance doesn't work for short distances.

 

[Winker]

I think some do, but they find it hard to tell the rest of the colony where they're foraging. I think somebody (was it Seeley?) says that the waggle dance doesn't work for short distances.

So how do they know how to rob the neighbouring hives?

 

[BeeJayBee]

So how do they know how to rob the neighbouring hives?

I have absolutely no idea.

 

[BeeNice]

So how do they know how to rob the neighbouring hives?

Work outside cleaning frames and you will soon see honeybees coming around to see what's going on, they know where old hives, honey, wax is by smell I believe. Correct me if I am wrong, but I left the shed door open the other day with old frames in it and had around 50 bees coming in, had to take the old frames away and seal up around the door.

 

[Chris Luck]

Honeybees tend not to forage in the immediate vicinity of the hive.

They do if there is something interesting for them they will forage to within a metre or two of the colony all day long, max returns for min energy expenditure.

Chris

 

[Suzi Q]

It means that they are short of food when they cumulate into allotment.

Thousands?

I have seen bumbles on red clover.
First when I looked the 6 hectare field, I saw one bumble. Next week fireweed stopped blooming, I calculated 4 bumbles/ square meter.

Hectare has 10 000 square meters, 6 hectares 60 000 and 4 bees on it
= 240 000 bumbles on one field.

Yes, probably right, there is a wood and a golf course near-by, so no wonder they accumulate in great numbers on the allotments.

 

[Little John]

My 'garden' is a maze of buttercups and white clover at present (I'm that kind of gardener ...) yet the only bees interested in 'em are the Bumblies.

Local foraging must work though, else fruit growers wouldn't put hives in their orchards.

LJ

 

[Luminos]

They do if there is something interesting for them they will forage to within a metre or two of the colony all day long, max returns for min energy expenditure.

Chris

Yes, mine are mad for the phacelia which is only a few metres from the hives

 

[Winker]

Work outside cleaning frames and you will soon see honeybees coming around to see what's going on, they know where old hives, honey, wax is by smell I believe. Correct me if I am wrong, but I left the shed door open the other day with old frames in it and had around 50 bees coming in, had to take the old frames away and seal up around the door.

I agree they can smell the honey/wax, but how do they communicate the position to the rest of the bees/hive if as Seeley says that the waggle dance doesn't work for short distances.