>How far do bees fly to gather pollen and nectar?
"Different authors maintain, they can fly several leagues from the hive. But by the few observations I have been able to make, this distance seems greatly exaggerated. It appears to me that the radius of the circle they traverse does not exceed half a league (½ league=1 ½ miles=2 ½ km). As they return to the hive with the greatest precipitation whenever a cloud passes before the sun, it is probable they do not fly far. Nature which has inspired them with such terror for a storm, and even for rain, undoubtedly restrains them from going so far as to be too much exposed to the injuries of the weather. I have endeavored to ascertain the fact more positively, by transporting to various distances bees with the thorax painted, that they might again be recognized. But none ever returned that I had carried for twenty-five or thirty minutes from their dwelling, while those at a shorter distance have found their way and returned. I do not state this experiment as decisive. Though bees do not generally fly above half a league, it is very possible they go much farther when flowers are scarce in their own vicinity. A conclusive experiment must be made in vast arid or sandy plains, separated by a known distance from a fertile region." François Huber, 1 October 1791, NEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES
"The bees at our home apiary averaged close to 1 cwt. per colony, including winter stores, from the heather. The nearest heather was some 2 3/4 miles away and at a height of about 1,200 ft,. it must be assumed the bees had to fly a further mile or two into the moor, or a total distance of no less than 3 1/2 miles." Brother Adam, In Search of the Best Strains of Bees
>What is the internal temprature of a beehive?
"Now that I am on the subject of thermometrical observations, I may curiously remark, that M. Dubois of Bourg en Bresse, in a memoir otherwise valuable, is of opinion, that the larvae cannot be hatched below 104°. I have repeatedly made the experiment with the most accurate thermometers and obtained a very different result. When the thermometer rises to 104°, the heat is so much greater than the eggs require, that it is intolerable to the bees. M. Dubois has been deceived, I imagine, by too suddenly introducing his thermometer into a cluster of bees and putting them in agitation, the mercury has risen higher than it should naturally do. Had he delayed introducing the thermometer, he would soon have seen it fall to between 95° and 97°, which is the usual temperature of hives in summer. In August this year, when the thermometer in the open air stood at 94°, it did not rise above 99° in the most populous hives. The bees had little motion and a great many rested on the board of the hive.) " François Huber, 1 October 1791, NEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES