Forager Bee
Lexikon
The forager, also called the field bee, is a worker in the last stage of her life.
The forager, also called the field bee, is a worker in the last stage of her life. From about the 21st day of life, that is, after around three weeks of work inside the hive as a cleaning, nurse, builder, and guard bee, she switches to outside duty and leaves the hive regularly. She brings in nectar and honeydew, pollen, water, and tree resins for making propolis, and thus supplies the whole colony with everything needed for brood care, nutrition, and hive hygiene.
In beekeeping practice, the forager is the most visible member of the colony. Flight traffic at the entrance, the amount of pollen brought in, and behavior on the landing board give direct indications of colony strength, the available forage, and the state of health of the colony. If a beekeeper sees hardly any foraging activity in good weather with forage in bloom nearby, this is often a first warning sign of a weak or sick colony.
Foraging wears out the bee's body quickly. Within two to three weeks her coat of hair and wings become visibly worn, the bee becomes bald and darker, and the edges of her wings tear. At the end of her life a forager usually does not return to the hive but dies in the field, which explains why dead foragers are hardly found in the hive, whereas dead young bees from disease are.
A common misconception is to consider every bee flying in front of the entrance a forager. In fact, the orientation flights of young house bees memorizing the position and surroundings of the hive look very similar. Anyone who confuses the two easily overestimates the actual foraging performance of a colony.