Compensation for wind drift by bumble-bees

In his classic studies on honeybee navigation, von Frisch had to rely on qualitative visual observations of the bees' flight paths, but nevertheless reached the surprising conclusion that bees seem to anticipate lateral wind drift and compensate by flying in shallow curves on the upwind side of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1999-07, Vol.400 (6740), p.126-126
Main Authors: Riley, J. R, Reynolds, D. R, Smith, A. D, Edwards, A. S, Osborne, J. L, Williams, I. H, McCartney, H. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural land
Apis mellifera
Arable land
Bees
Bombus terrestris
Compensation
Drift
Effectiveness
Forages
Grounds
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Navigation
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
scientific-correspondence
Tracks (paths)
Wind
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Summary:In his classic studies on honeybee navigation, von Frisch had to rely on qualitative visual observations of the bees' flight paths, but nevertheless reached the surprising conclusion that bees seem to anticipate lateral wind drift and compensate by flying in shallow curves on the upwind side of their intended tracks,. We have investigated wind compensation with much greater precision by using radar, to record the flight trajectories of individual bumble-bees (Bombus terrestris L.) foraging over arable farmland. Flights typically covered distances of 200 to 700 metres, but bees maintained direct routes between the forage areas and their nests, even in winds with a strong cross-track component. Some bees overcompensated slightly, as described by von Frisch, but most stayed on course byheading partly into the wind and moving obliquely over the ground.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/22029