Foragers and heavy showers?

[justme]

Bees out foraging in the sunshine coming back towards home and finding it bucketing down with rain, or heavy shower at least. What do they do? continue through it or wait somewhere til it stops/eases? With the very heavy regional showers around here at the moment its made me wonder.

 

[drstitson]

i find it interesting seeing the returning hoardes ahead of a serious turn in the weather - all in, none out.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Who knows?
What I have seen is hundreds of bees appearing from nowhere diving into the hives just minutes before a downpour.

 

[Elaine]

Who knows?
What I have seen is hundreds of bees appearing from nowhere diving into the hives just minutes before a downpour.

I've seen them too - dashing home just before the rain starts! We guessed it was to do with the change of light levels as the clouds approach.....

 

[user 6228]

i find it interesting seeing the returning hoardes ahead of a serious turn in the weather - all in, none out.

That black cloud just before an inspection?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Or atmospheric pressure. Here they often come in before the clouds.

 

[Swarm]

Noticed the opposite here. When you wouldn't expect to see them out, there they are working away, seemingly ignoring it.

 

[huntsman666]

My girls are Amm - native dark bees, not a hint of an italian.

Like all celts they can put up with a bit of rain

 

[Hivemaker.]

Our native Buckfasts seem to just carry on working away in the rain,think they rather like it,but then they were bred for harsh conditions.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Our native Buckfasts seem to just carry on working away in the rain,think they rather like it,but then they were bred for harsh conditions.

maybe not so many of them out but they have't stopped working, even last weekend

 

[itma]

I've seen them too - dashing home just before the rain starts! We guessed it was to do with the change of light levels as the clouds approach.....

After the first rain for a long time, even humans can "smell the rain" (or rather its effects on vegetation).
My expectation would be that the bees' more acute senses could routinely smell the 'rain' as it approaches, and take appropriate action (if they aren't all-weather bees).

 

[Bob Bee]

My girls are Amm - native dark bees, not a hint of an italian.

Like all celts they can put up with a bit of rain

But they can certainly tell if there's a storm about to break.....

 

[Winker]

I stood and watched this phenomena last week for the first time. There were thousands of bees all coming over the top of the fence at once. It was all inward travel and nothing outward. It was quite a sight to be seen, 4 hives worth of bees all heading home at the same time.

Then 5 minuets latter we had a massive down pour of rain.

 

[justme]

Yes agreed, but my question was about very localised heavy rain at the hive that that suddenly came down when bees were already a long way away foraging. Wouldnt that possibly be unnoticed? Eg. I was at a house when from nowhere the heavens opened, jumped in my car to move on and 25 yards away, no rain, still bright. Happened quite alot recently, shame I'm not near my bees at the time.

 

[alanf]

my question was about very localised heavy rain at the hive that that suddenly came down when bees were already a long way away foraging.

Yes, but rain clouds move across the landscape. Some of your bees will have an earlier experience of the rain than you do standing at the hive. It's likely that they will make their way back before the ones you can see around you.

What would be interesting is if there is a waggle dance or equivalent to warn of rain arriving. That would account for arrivals but no departures.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The bumbles in my garden shelter in flowers and under leaves so maybe honey bees similarly find shelter if they are caught out