Foraging honey bees,Apis melliferaL., were captured at sample plots in a 65.2- hectare alfalfa,Medicago sativaL., field, tagged with color-coded, ferrous metal tags, and released. Distribution of these foragers was determined by recapture of tags by magnets at the entrances of 504 hives distributed in 29 apiaries within the field. The mean distance that bees flew was 198 meters for nectar and 240.3 meters for pollen.The nectar sugar concentration averaged 37.0% in the morning and 47.7% in the afternoon. Alfalfa pollen was totally absent in pollen samples trapped at hive entrances. The mean pollen collection (five days) was 247.5 and 189.6 grams per colony for Hy-Queen and standard stock, respectively, but the differences were not significant. The orientation of hive entrances (north or south) had no effect on the number of bees foraging on alfalfa.