The Foraging Behavior of the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, L.)

The Foraging Behavior of the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, L.) PDF

Author: John Purdy

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2023-10-27

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0323986196

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The Foraging Behavior of the Honeybee (Apis mellifera, L.) provides a scholarly resource for knowledge on the regulation, communication, resource allocation, learning and characteristics of honeybee foraging behavior at the individual and colony level. Foraging, in this context, is the exploration of the environment around a honey bee hive and the collection of resources (pollen, nectar, water, etc.) by bees in the worker caste of a colony. Honeybees have the unique ability to balance conflicting and changing resource needs in rapidly changing environments, thus their characterization as “superorganisms made up of individuals who act in the interest of the whole. This book explores the fascinating world of honey bees in their struggle to obtain food and resources in the ecosystem and environment around the hive. Written by a team of international experts on honey bee behavior and ecology, this book covers current and historical knowledge, research methods and modeling used in the field of study and includes estimates of key parameters of energy utilization, quantities of materials collected, and identifies inconsistencies or gaps in current knowledge in the field. Establishes a basis of current knowledge on honeybees to build and advance understanding of their foraging behavior Addresses stressors such as habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, pests and diseases Presents concise concepts that facilitate direct traceability to the original underlying research

The Biology of the Honey Bee

The Biology of the Honey Bee PDF

Author: Mark L. Winston

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1991-04-01

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0674744209

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From ancient cave paintings of honey bee nests to modern science’s richly diversified investigation of honey bee biology and its applications, the human imagination has long been captivated by the mysterious and highly sophisticated behavior of this paragon among insect societies. In the first broad treatment of honey bee biology to appear in decades, Mark Winston provides rare access to the world of this extraordinary insect. In a bright and engaging style, Winston probes the dynamics of the honey bee’s social organization. He recreates for us the complex infrastructure of the nest, describes the highly specialized behavior of workers, queens, and drones, and examines in detail the remarkable ability of the honey bee colony to regulate its functions according to events within and outside the nest. Winston integrates into his discussion the results of recent studies, bringing into sharp focus topics of current bee research. These include the exquisite architecture of the nest and its relation to bee physiology; the intricate division of labor and the relevance of a temporal caste structure to efficient functioning of the colony; and, finally, the life-death struggles of swarming, supersedure, and mating that mark the reproductive cycle of the honey bee. The Biology of the Honey Bee not only reviews the basic aspects of social behavior, ecology, anatomy, physiology, and genetics, it also summarizes major controversies in contemporary honey bee research, such as the importance of kin recognition in the evolution of social behavior and the role of the well-known dance language in honey bee communication. Thorough, well-illustrated, and lucidly written, this book will for many years be a valuable resource for scholars, students, and beekeepers alike.

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication PDF

Author: Carla Mucignat-Caretta

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2014-02-14

Total Pages: 614

ISBN-13: 1466553413

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Intraspecific communication involves the activation of chemoreceptors and subsequent activation of different central areas that coordinate the responses of the entire organism—ranging from behavioral modification to modulation of hormones release. Animals emit intraspecific chemical signals, often referred to as pheromones, to advertise their presence to members of the same species and to regulate interactions aimed at establishing and regulating social and reproductive bonds. In the last two decades, scientists have developed a greater understanding of the neural processing of these chemical signals. Neurobiology of Chemical Communication explores the role of the chemical senses in mediating intraspecific communication. Providing an up-to-date outline of the most recent advances in the field, it presents data from laboratory and wild species, ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates, from insects to humans. The book examines the structure, anatomy, electrophysiology, and molecular biology of pheromones. It discusses how chemical signals work on different mammalian and non-mammalian species and includes chapters on insects, Drosophila, honey bees, amphibians, mice, tigers, and cattle. It also explores the controversial topic of human pheromones. An essential reference for students and researchers in the field of pheromones, this is also an ideal resource for those working on behavioral phenotyping of animal models and persons interested in the biology/ecology of wild and domestic species.

The Pollen Foraging Ecology of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) in a Fragmented Environment

The Pollen Foraging Ecology of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) in a Fragmented Environment PDF

Author: Byeong Hon Park

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13: 9781267625335

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Honey bees recruit foragers to rich food sources through the waggle dance. The waggle dance has been used extensively to study the foraging ecology of honey bees in various habitats. We decoded waggle dances and used DNA barcoding of bee-collected pollen to characterize the foraging ecology of honey bees Apis mellifera L.) over 17 months around La Jolla, California, a heavily fragmented environment containing urban, semi-urban, and patches of native scrub habitats. We divided the year into three distinct seasons (dormant, growth, and dry) based on natural patterns of warming and rainfall to understand how honey bee foraging varies over ecologically relevant temporal scales in a fragmented environment. We detected a significant effect of season on foraging distances. We also found that colonies focused their foraging efforts on few patches during the dormant season and performed increasingly wider searches for pollen with changes in season. Lastly, we detected significant seasonal turnover in the proportion of pollen loads with native or non-native pollen. Bees focused their pollen foraging on native species during the dormant season; both native and non-native species during the growth season; and, non-native species during the dry season. Our results show that honey bees are capable of adjusting their foraging behavior with season to exploit common, abundant native and non-native flowers, illustrating the remarkable adaptability of honey bees in fragmented habitats. Furthermore, our study indicates that honey bees may serve as pollinators of common native plants in light of declines in native pollinators bought on by habitat fragmentation.

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