Amino acids are probably ubiquitous components of floral and extrafloral nectars. Although it seems likely that they serve, as sugars do, to reward nectarivores, little is known about the responses to amino acids by flower visitors. The experiments reported here were conducted to determine the responses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to single amino acids at relatively high concentrations dissolved in an aqueous solution of 30% sucrose. Bees' responses to 24 L—amino acids, 2 DL mixtures, 2 phenolics, and a flavonoid were tested with artificial—flower feeders. The bees' responses were classified as: (1) consumption that generally declined as amino acid concentration increased (although weak solutions of amino acids were sometimes preferred over a sucrose control), (2) a preference for the strongest concentration offered (phenylalanine), (3) no significant difference between the amino and acid and control. There were no apparent correlations between characteristics of the amino acids and the bees' reactions to them, and no obvious difference between responses to essential and nonessential amino acids.

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A classical conditioned response was used to evaluate the learning behaviour of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) which survived a sublethal dose of permethrin. Treated bees had lower learning response levels than untreated bees for 3 days, but regained normal learning ability on the fourth day after exposure. However, bees trained prior to exposure showed no significant effect of permethrin on their conditioned response.

The effectiveness of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., as pollinators of male‐sterile cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., was evaluated using 649 colonies located adjacent to 53 ha of cotton grown on Pullman clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Torrertic Paleustoll) near Plainview, TX. The planting pattern used was 2A (male‐sterile seed parent): 2B (male‐fertile maintainer) rows throughout. Colonies were evaluated for population, brood, and weight changes. Observers recorded bee visits to flowers of both A‐line and B‐line plants. Flowers were tagged over a 5‐week period to determine the percentage of bolls setting and the yield of seed and lint. Most colonies had less than 10 frames of bees and less than 3 frames of brood. Honey bee visits to the A‐line flowers varied from 0.4 to 1.7% over a 5‐ week period of observation. The bee activity on the B‐line flowers was much less, with a range of 0.1 to 1.2% visits. The authors concluded that 5 colonies/ha with 28 000 bees per colony would adequately pollinate male‐sterile cotton under the conditions of this test.