Feeding Preference and Survival of Young Worker Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Fed Rape, Sesame, and Sunflower Pollen
1995; Oxford University Press; Volume: 88; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/jee/88.6.1591
ISSN1938-291X
AutoresLi S. Schmidt, Justin O. Schmidt, Hima Rao, Weiyi Wang, Ligen Xu,
Tópico(s)Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
ResumoYoung worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., exhibited differences in feeding preferences and survival when fed pollen of rape, Brassica napus L., sesame, Sesamum indicum L., and sunflower, Helianthus annuus. Rape pollen was readily consumed and increased Longevity 2.5 times relative to the controls fed only sucrose water. Sunflower pollen was readily consumed with bees on average surviving 1.6 times longer than the controls. Sesame pollen was not readily consumed and bees survived 1.7 times longer than the controls. The results suggest that honey bees used to pollinate monoculture crops of either sunflowers or sesame, but not rape, will need to be provided alternate floral or nutritional supplements source to enrich their diets and maintain colony health.
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