Bees typically fly at tree top levels and have a typical range of about 2.5-3 miles. This is part of why certified organic honey produced in the US is non-exist

Bees typically fly at tree top levels and have a typical range of about 2.5-3 miles. This is part of why certified organic honey produced in the US is non-existent. The USDA is working on an organic certification for honey, but without being able to certify the food sources within a 2.5 mile radius (the draft mentioned this as the likely cutoff), it's practically impossible in most areas. However, hive spacing can have a big impact. While some transmission does happen at shared flowers, the transmission is very likely between hives due to worker or drone drift. If you have 4 hives on a single pallet (common commercial practice) you will see a lot of bees returning to hives that were not their own. Increasing hive spacing can reduce the number of drifting bees, and possibly reduce transmission.