Sun Position as a Possible Factor in the Disorientation of Honeybees in the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract

SummaryRows of honeybee (Apis mellifera) hives were arranged in squares, 5 to a side with their entrances facing outwards (N, S, E, W), in the south temperate zone (at Tauranga, New Zealand, 37° 40'S, 176° 12'E). A significant number of marked bees of various ages moved (drifted) westward from the central hives of north- and south-facing rows during January and February 1983 when the zenith angles of the sun were 17°10'N, 21° 49'N at solar noon. Marked bees in hives facing east showed a significant tendency to drift northward along the rows by the time they were 17–18 days old. This movement of marked bees was not evident in rows that faced west. These data are compared with those obtained in the north temperate zone (at 49° 38'N, 97° 09'W) and in the tropical zone (at 18° 00'N, 76° 45'W). It appears that the sun's position, and its apparent movement, influence the direction that most bees drift from their parent hives.