TITLE:
Regulation of Pollen Foraging Activity in Apis mellifera Africanized Honeybees Colonies
AUTHORS:
Erica Gomes de Lima, Simone Cristina Camargo, Pedro da Rosa Santos, Jose Washington Santos Oliveira, Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de Toledo
KEYWORDS:
Comb Mapping, Honeybee Nutrition, Management in Beekeeping, Behavior
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.7 No.6,
June
9,
2016
ABSTRACT: Efficient honey production requires knowledge about the behavior of the workers and the parameters that influence the strength of the colony. In this study, the objective was to analyze the interaction between the foraging behavior of worker honeybees and pollen storage levels in Africanized honeybees colonies. Colonies with low pollen storage increased pollen intake rates, but this value was 15% lower than colonies with high pollen storage, demonstrating a direct relationship between the pollen storage levels and foraging activity. The difference in pollen intake rates varied according to the number of foraging honeybees and pollen load collected by each individual. Under both high and low pollen storage, colonies returned pollen storage to initial level within 16 days, suggesting that honeybees regulate pollen storage levels around a homeostatic set point. Relationship between pollen storage levels and colony brood production was also found, indicating how alterations in the behavior of each individual can affect the strength of the colony.