Curiosities & wonders > New observations on the natural history of bees

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ECONOMICAL
to in collecting their provender. Different
authors maintain, that they can fly several r
leagues from the hive. But according to
the few observations I have been able to
make, this distance seems greatly exag- ^ E
gerated. It appears to me that the radius of ; i
the circle they traverse does not exceed half i i
a league; and as they return to the hive jti
with the greatest precipitation whenever a i;
cloud passes before the sun, it is probable i
that they do not fly far. Nature, which has r
inspired them with such terror for a storm, t
and even for rain, undoubtedly restrains i
them from going so far as to be too much ]
exposed to the injuries of the weather. I jl
have endeavoured to ascertain the fact more u
positively, by transporting to various dis- fi
tances bees with the thorax painted, that h
they might be again recognised. But none It
ever returned that I had carried for twenty- t
five or thirty minutes from their dwelling, i
while those at a shorter distance have
found their way back. 1 do not, state I
this experiment as decisive. Though bees
generally do not fly above half a league, it
is very possible that they go much farther
when flowers are scarce in their own vicini¬
ty. An experiment to be conclusive must