How many bees does it take.....

[Jerrymac]

Figure that no bee makes a second trip, how many bees do you think it takes to carry off one gallon of honey
or syrup?

Just wondering because in less than an hour a half gallon was polished off. I mean bone dry. This is in a flat pan with old broken up comb for floats. The cells in the comb is cleaned out and every speck of the half gallon is gone.

[Bennettoid]

I had 3 hives suck down a gallon in a little over 2 hours last week. Same set up, using a big flat pan with sticks for floats.

[JP]

I have no idea how many bees it would take. A lot, that 's for sure. At lease 20.


  , JP

[KONASDAD]

It's been said a bee can carry one tenth of a teaspoon (if i remember correctly& true) just figure out how many Tsps in an ounce, than move on upwards. I am always blwon away by bee numbers. Miles flown and i get dizzy trying to figure out how many bees are "produced" in a year in one hive. Just dizzying. Even up north.

[Jerrymac]

So ten bees per teaspoon.                    10

3 teaspoons to make a tablespoon.         30

16 tablespoons to make a cup               480

4 cups to make a quart                       1520

4 quarts to make a gallon                    6080

Thought it would be more than that.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001723.html

[KONASDAD]

Now that measuremnet was given for nectar, a thinner product than syrup. Just to throw a monkey wrench in your numbers. I thought it would be more too!

[Jerrymac]

If a bee can hold 1/10 teaspoon volume wouldn't that be any liquid.... by volume?

[KONASDAD]

If a bee can hold 1/10 teaspoon volume wouldn't that be any liquid.... by volume?

Yes, unless a bee cant carry the weight of 1/10 tsp of honey or syrup for example. Maybe they can only fly w/ half a tank of honey, but full w/ nectar?

[BMAC]

6000 bees isnt too bad.  It might take my NUC 3 days to finish that gallon off though.  It only has 2 frames of bees on it.

[BMAC]

If a bee can hold 1/10 teaspoon volume wouldn't that be any liquid.... by volume?

Yes, unless a bee cant carry the weight of 1/10 tsp of honey or syrup for example. Maybe they can only fly w/ half a tank of honey, but full w/ nectar?

Well considering that when you smoke bees, they run in and fill up their honey stomachs with honey, I would say they can probably carry that weight.  They just cant fly real fast.

[Scadsobees]

I'm not sure, but one stat is that a honeybee gathers enough nectar in her life to produce 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.

Looking a tsp, but there is no way that a honeybee hold a 1/10th tsp in at a time. There are 20-30 honey drips or more in a tsp (I stopped counting at 20), and a honey drip is almost the size of a bee's abdomen.

Other than that I have have no idea, but I'd say 10,000's, many trips.  But when on the hive, each trip is very short so they can take lots of trips.

And what if they are small cell bees???

Rick

[NWIN Beekeeper]

[And what if they are small cell bees???]

If they are small cell they are probably Michael Bush's bees.

Jerry, I'd tell Mike you want your honey back.

Its not nice to steal, and that shouldn't be tolerated on this family forum.

[Jerrymac]

I'm not sure, but one stat is that a honeybee gathers enough nectar in her life to produce 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.

Ok but. There is always a but. How many teaspoons is that nectar before all the water is evaporated? I guess we really need to know the volume of a honeybee's stomach.

But I have small cell bees.

[NWIN Beekeeper]

[But I have small cell bees.]

Oh the humanity!!

I think Michael Bush stole your bees too!!

You better do something fast!

You've been infiltrated by little theiver bees!

[SteveSC]

They say a bee will make 1\12th teaspoon of honey in it's life span.  That being the case I doubt there's a honeybee any where that can carry 1\10th of a teaspoon of any liquid at one time.  There no telling how many trips it takes that one bee to gather enough ingredients for his 1\12th of a teaspoon.  If he were hauling out 1\10th teaspoon every trip we'd all need alot less bees to fill the honey jars.

I'm with Scad on this one: one bee - one trip - 1\10th teaspoon - no way...

[CBEE]

However many it is ,,When they really want to they can carry it off faster than I would ever believe. Its like a bunch of sharks on a feeding frenzy

[randydrivesabus]

I thought this was going to be a joke....like how many bees does it take to screw in a light bulb?

[Jerrymac]

They say a bee will make 1\12th teaspoon of honey in it's life span.  That being the case I doubt there's a honeybee any where that can carry 1\10th of a teaspoon of any liquid at one time.  There no telling how many trips it takes that one bee to gather enough ingredients for his 1\12th of a teaspoon.  If he were hauling out 1\10th teaspoon every trip we'd all need alot less bees to fill the honey jars.

I'm with Scad on this one: one bee - one trip - 1\10th teaspoon - no way...

Once again. That is 1/12 teaspoon of honey, but how much thin nectar does it take to make 1/12 teaspoon of thick honey.

[SteveSC]

Once again. That is 1/12 teaspoon of honey, but how much thin nectar does it take to make 1/12 teaspoon of thick honey.

I realise that but there's no way a honeybee is going to carry 1\10th of a teaspoon anywhere on one trip...

:the U.S. drop, 1/60 of a teaspoon or 1/360 of a U.S. fluid ounce (approximately 82 μL).:

The bee would have to have one of those "tiny buckets" to carry the 6 drops of water that equates to
1\10th of a teaspoon.  They're good but I doubt they're that good.  What do ya think..?

[Cindi]

I am just getting back onto my new and improved computer and can't wait to get back on and read all the stuff in this particular thread (along with other ones, hee, hee).  Talkin' and readin' at ya.  Have a wonderful and greatest of days.  Cindi