Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:52:17.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

POLLEN STORAGE AND FORAGING BY HONEY BEES (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) IN HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRIES (ERICACEAE), CULTIVAR BLUECROP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Margriet H. Dogterom  and
Mark L. Winston
Margriet H. Dogterom*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
Mark L. Winston
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
*
1Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We investigated pollen and nectar foraging of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., from pollen-poor and pollen-rich, small and large colonies in blooming highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. cv. Bluecrop fields. The proportion of pollen foragers differed significantly between pollen-rich and pollen-poor colonies after storage levels were manipulated, but foraging and pollen stores returned to similar levels within a week. No differences were found in small colonies, although the proportion of pollen foragers was high (46% and 45% from pollen-rich and pollen-poor colonies, respectively). Only 7.6% of pollen foragers carried Vaccinium sp. pollen in their loads independent of treatment, day, and colony size, whereas 60.8% of nectar foragers carried up to 100 tetrads of Vaccinium sp. pollen on their bodies. The average proportion of Vaccinium sp. pollen carried by nectar and pollen foragers per day and treatment was less than 10%. Our research indicates that when colonies are placed in fields of blooming blueberry flowers, pollen foraging is stimulated in large colonies with stores that are pollen poor, but predominantly for pollen types other than blueberry. This research indicates that nectar foragers are the major visitor of highbush blueberry cv. Bluecrop and suggests that increasing the number of nectar foragers rather than pollen foragers would result in more honey bees foraging on highbush blueberry, in particular cv. Bluecrop.

Résumé

Nous avons étudié le butinage de pollen et de nectar chez l’Abeille domestique, Apis mellifera L., dans de grandes et de petites colonies à réserves riches ou pauvres en pollen, dans des champs d’airelles de corymbe, Vaccinium corymbosum L., cv. Bluecrop. La proportion des butineuses de pollen différait significativement chez les colonies riches en pollen et les colonies pauvres en pollen après manipulation des réserves, mais le butinage et les réserves sont redevenus semblables chez les deux colonies en moins de 1 semaine. Il n’y avait pas de différence d’une petite colonie à une autre, mais la proportion de butineuses de pollen était élevée (46% chez les colonies riches en pollen, 45% chez les colonies pauvres en pollen). Seulement 7,6% des butineuses de pollen transportaient du pollen de Vaccinium sp., indépendamment du type de traitement, de la journée ou de la taille de la colonie, alors que 60,8% des butineuses de nectar transportaient jusqu’à 100 tétrades de pollen de Vaccinium sp. sur leur corps. La proportion moyenne de pollen de Vaccinium sp. transporté par les butineuses de pollen et de nectar par jour et par traitement était inférieure à 10%. Nos résultats indiquent que l’installation de colonies dans des champs d’airelles en fleurs stimule le butinage de pollen chez les grandes colonies à réserves pauvres en pollen, mais les abeilles récoltent surtout du pollen d’autres plantes. Nos résultats indiquent également que les butineuses de nectar sont les visiteurs les plus fréquents sur les airelles du cultivar Bluecrop et semblent démontrer que l’augmentation du nombre de butineuses de nectar augmente probablement le nombre d’abeilles butineuses d’airelles, particulièrement les airelles du cultivar Bluecrop.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 131 , Issue 6 , December 1999 , pp. 757 - 768
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barker, R.J. 1971. The influence of food inside the hive on pollen collection by a honeybee colony. Journal of Apicultural Research 10: 23–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchmann, S.L. 1983. Buzz pollination in angiosperms. pp. 73–113in Jones, C.E., Little, R.D. (Eds), Handbook of Experimental Pollination Biology. New York: Van Nostrand ReinholdGoogle Scholar
Camazine, S. 1993. The regulation of pollen foraging by honey bees: how foragers assess the colony's need for pollen. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 32: 265–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cane, J.H., Mackenzie, K., Schiffhauer, D. 1993. Honey bees harvest pollen from the porose anthers of cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) (Ericaeae). American Bee Journal 133: 293–5Google Scholar
Currie, R.W., Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N. 1992 a. Effect of synthetic queen mandibular pheromone sprays on honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) pollination of berry crops. Journal of Economic Entomology 85: 1300–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Currie, R.W., Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N., Mayer, D.F. 1992 b. Effect of synthetic queen mandibular pheromone sprays on pollination of fruit crops by honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 85: 1293–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, R.W., Quinn, G.P. 1989. Comparisons of treatments after an analyses of variance in ecology. Ecological Monographs 59: 433–63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Hoopingarner, R., Klomparens, K. 1986. Influence of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in-hive pollen transfer on cross-pollination and fruit set in apple. Environmental Entomology 15: 723–5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eaton, G.W., Stewart, M.G. 1969. Highbush blueberry pollen collection by honey bees. HortScience 4: 95CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckert, C.D. 1990. The relationship between colony state and individual foraging behaviour in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. M.Sc. thesis, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British ColumbiaGoogle Scholar
Fewell, J.H., Winston, M.L. 1992. Colony state and regulation of pollen foraging in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 30: 387–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fewell, J.H., Ydenberg, R.C., Winston, M.L. 1991. Individual foraging effort as a function of colony population in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Animal Behaviour 42: 153–5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B. 1960. The pollination of fruit trees. Bee World 41: 141–51, 169–86CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B. 1965 a. The behaviour of honeybee foragers when their colonies are fed sugar syrup. Journal of Apicultural Research 4: 85–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B. 1965 b. Attempts to increase pollination by spraying crops with sugar syrup. Journal of Apicultural Research 4: 61–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B. 1967. Factors determining the collection of pollen by honeybee foragers. Animal Behaviour 15: 134–44CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Free, J.B. 1993. Insect Pollination of Crops. London: Academic PressGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B., Racey, P.A. 1968. The effect of the size of honey bee colonies on food consumption, brood rearing and the longevity of the bees during winter. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 11: 241–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B., Williams, I.H. 1972. The transport of pollen on the body hairs of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) and bumblebees (Bombus spp. L.). Journal of Applied Ecology 9: 609–15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, R.M. 1997. Feeding sugar syrup to honey bee colonies to improve pollination: a review. Bee World 78: 56–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, R.M., Ten Houten, A. 1991. Feeding sugar syrup to honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies to increase kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa) pollen collection: effects of frequency, quantity and time of day. Journal of Apicultural Research 30: 41–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harbo, J.R. 1986. Effect of population size on brood production, worker survival and honey gain in colonies of honey bees. Journal of Apicultural Research 25: 22–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higo, H.A., Colley, S.J., Winston, M.L. 1992. Effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen mandibular gland pheromone on foraging and brood rearing. The Canadian Entomologist 124: 409–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jay, S.C. 1966. Drifting of honeybees in commercial apiaries. III. Effect of apiary layout. Journal of Apicultural Research 5: 137–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kearns, C.A., Inouye, D.W. 1993. Techniques for Pollination Biologists. Niwot: University Press of ColoradoGoogle Scholar
Kuhnholz, S., Seeley, T.D. 1997. The control of water collection in honey bee colonies. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 41: 407–22Google Scholar
McGregor, S.E. 1976. Insect pollination of cultivated crop plants. US Department of Agriculture Agriculture Handbook 496Google Scholar
Moore, J.N. 1993. Blueberry cultivars of North America. HortTechnology 3: 370–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, L.G., Hoopingarner, R., Martin, E.C. 1979. Pollen preferences of honeybees sited on four cultivated crops. Journal of Apicultural Research 18: 196–200CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, R.E., Fondrk, K.M. 1995. The effects of colony-level selection on the social organization of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies: colony-level components of pollen hoarding. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 36: 135–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinderer, T.E., Baxter, J.R., Carter, C.E. Jr, Mornhinveg, L.R. 1979. Empty comb stimulates honey production. American Bee Journal 119: 40–3Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. 1985. SAS User's Guide: Statistics, Version 5 Edition. Cary: SAS Institute Inc.Google Scholar
Schmid-Hempel, P., Winston, M.L., Ydenberg, R.C. 1993. Foraging of individual workers in relation to colony state in the social hymenoptera. The Canadian Entomologist 125: 129–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seeley, T.D. 1995 The Wisdom of the Hive. The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies. Cambridge: Harvard University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., Fergusson, L.A. 1985. The effect of worker loss on temporal caste structure in colonies of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Canadian Journal of Zoology 63: 777–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N. 1992. The essence of royalty: honey bee queen pheromone. American Scientist 80: 374–85Google Scholar
Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N. 1993. Applications of queen honey bee mandibular pheromone for beekeeping and crop pollination. Bee World 74: 111–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N. 1998. Honey bee primer pheromones and colony organization: gaps in our knowledge. Apidologie 29: 81–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., Mitchell, S.R., Punnett, E.N. 1985. Feasibility of package honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) production in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Economic Entomology 78: 1037–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar