# Do bees rest?



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Welcome to Beesource!


>> Do bees rest returning to the hive with a load of nectar/pollen? 

My understanding is that typically forager bees stay in the hive long enough to pass their load to "receiver bees" but the foragers would go out for another load once they have passed the current load off. This is supported by the concept of measuring the cycle times of forager bee trips in an effort to estimate the flight distance of the hive from a specific location. (This is related to finding unmanaged ("feral") bee colonies.)

More info on timing bees here: http://www.beesource.com/point-of-view/adrian-wenner/efficient-hunting-of-feral-colonies/


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Yes, bees rest. Busy as a bee is not as much accurate a description of how active bees are all the time as the saying might have you believe.

There is a chart in "The Encyclopedia of Beekeeping" by Roger Morse and ( I forget) which shows what activity individual bees are occupied by during a 24 hour period. Quite a bit of that time they are doing nothing. One could say that they are resting.

Maybe someone more talented than I could find a link to the page in that book.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Yes, according to Dr. Jurgen Tautz in his book: The Buzz About Bees, Biology of a Superorganism.

Bees rest head first in cells for up to 30 minutes. Once I read that, I started looking for it, and yes, it appears that bees to take a break now and then.


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## Girl Next Door Honey (Jan 4, 2016)

I read somewhere that they take "micro naps" I didn't know they do it with their head a cell. How funny!


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Not only do they rest, but bees sleep and *dream*.

Read my linked post: http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...ber-favorite-fragrances&p=1348018#post1348018


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## NickB (Jan 4, 2016)

Wow, that was fast! Did not expect so many answers. But my question is do bees rest on their return flight to the hive, when they have a full load. A beekeeper told me not to put bees by the river cause the bees will drown when returning to the hive with a load. Any thoughts?


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## jfmcree (Mar 10, 2014)

I suspect the beekeeper might be testing to see how gullible you are. If not, I would not take more advice from the person. The river risk should primarily be flooding and such a low elevation the hive could be saturated with settling moisture (fog). I don't think you have to worry about bees crash landing into the river due to exhaustion.

A location near a fresh water source, like a river, is usually a good location depending on the surrounding area.


Jim.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

JWChesnut said:


> Not only do they rest, but bees sleep and *dream*.
> 
> Read my linked post: http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...ber-favorite-fragrances&p=1348018#post1348018


Neat, JW. Guess I missed that the first time around.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

In the summer you may see bees bearding outside the hive at night. Lounging on the front porch swapping lies? Well, getting some rest, getting excess bodies out of the hive so it can cool, and gathering their strength for the next hard day of foraging.

My understanding is that younger bees take shorter breaks (as short as 30 seconds), but are active around the clock. Foragers are on a diurnal cycle, since they can only forage during daylight hours. Foragers expend considerable energy, and probably benefit from an overnight rest to recharge their muscles.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

NickB said:


> A beekeeper told me not to put bees by the river cause the bees will drown when returning to the hive with a load. Any thoughts?


I can see this happening, I guess it depends on how close you put the landing board/hive to the water.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> "A beekeeper told me not to put bees by the river cause the bees will drown when returning to the hive with a load. Any thoughts?"
> 
> I can see this happening, I guess it depends on how close you put the landing board/hive to the water.


Bees in a low damp area near water tend to have a lot worse problem with small hive beetles. That's reason enough. But I can see drowning, too.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

NickB said:


> But my question is: Do bees rest on their return flight to the hive, when they have a full load?


Yes, bees can work themselves to exhaustion. Bees have a delicate "breathing" system to supply their flight muscles in their thorax with oxygen. You will see forager bees before flight with their abdomens pumping fiercely. This pulls air into air sacs that surround organs in thorax and abdomen. This stored air is used to supply the flight muscles. Occasionally you will see a bee sitting on a blade of grass or leaf, pumping furiously, to resupply the exhausted muscles. The bee will take off again to complete it flight to the hive. 

Returning foragers often clumsily crash just before getting to the hive. These bees often take a couple minute break on the ground before recovering and finishing the little flight to the hive. They very seldom "walk" in. In cold or rainy weather, these bees can chill on the ground and succumb by the dozens. 

Foragers consume honey and store it in their crop before beginning a foraging trip -- they also can run out of sugar calories on their flights. Foragers in good condition have vitellogenin reserves. Vitellogenin (egg yolk) is a mixed carbohydrate-protein-lipid, and is the convertible fat store adult bees use.

Just how delicate the breathing system is in supplying the flight muscles -- can be seen in a primary sign of a diseased hive-- crawlers on the ground. These bees are too weak to fly -- while still appearing normal in other respects. The demands of the flight muscles are immense.


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## NickB (Jan 4, 2016)

Thanks for all the answers. I think I will try a few down there, not too close that river can rise. I have seen more beetles in damp/shady places as well so in the sun they go. Thanks again.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

In my observation hive I've often seen a bee in a cell that I assumed was dead only to see it emerge hours later and go back to work.

http://www.bushfarms.com/huber.htm#beesinrepose

"When the workers penetrate the cells, and remain fifteen or twenty minutes motionless, I have reason to believe, it is to repose from their labours. My observations on the subject seem correct. You know, Sir, that a kind of irregular shaped cells, are frequently constructed on the panes of the hive. These, being glass on one side, are exceedingly convenient to the observe, since all that passes within is exposed. I have often seen bees enter these cells when nothing could attract them. The cells contained neither eggs nor honey, nor did they need further completion. Therefore the workers repaired thither only to enjoy some moments of repose. Indeed, they were fifteen or twenty minutes so perfectly motionless, that had not the dilation of the rings, shewed their respiration, we might have concluded them dead. The queen also sometimes penetrates the cells of the males, and continues very long motionless in them. Her position prevents the bees from paying their full homage to her, yet even then the workers do not fail to form a circle around her and brush the part of her belly that remains exposed.

"The drones do not enter the cells while reposing but cluster together on the combs; and sometimes retain this position eighteen or twenty hours without the slightest motion."--François Huber, New Observations on the Natural History Of Bees Volume I, Letter VIII, 4 September 1791


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> I can see this happening, I guess it depends on how close you put the landing board/hive to the water.



there is 10 ft between the entrance to my hives and my pond, I don't have issues with a bunch of dead bees unill winter when I see them dropped on the ice from mortician bees making quick trips.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Welcome to BeeSource! Right now the river is probably coming to the hive!


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## Michael H. (Oct 28, 2015)

Welcome! I would be more worried about the humidity rather than bees drowning. Damp misty mornings and cooler nights next to the river could cause mould issues. Not mentioning flooding...


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Nick! Bees drown because they also collect water. Nectar, pollen, water, and rosins. Water is the only resource not stored in the comb.


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