SUMMARY FACTORS DETERMINING THE VOLUME OF SUGAR SOLUTION BEES AND WASPS COLLECT PER TRIP AT THE FOOD SOURCEWith honeybees (Apis mellifica) and wasps (Paravespula germanica and P. vulgaris), the volume of load per trip as a function of different variables is described.With bees, the volume of load per trip depends on the form of the food container (Fig. 1, inserted figure on the left).With bees, the volume of load per trip grows with increasing concentration of the sucrose solution. With wasps, the volume of load per trip does not depend on the sucrose concentration (Fig. 2).With bees and wasps, the volume of load per trip rises with increasing influx velocity of the solution (Fig. 3).With bees, the volume of load per trip remains nearly constant even when the temperature of the solution varies considerably (Fig. 4, inserted figure).With bees and wasps, the volume of load per trip grows with increasing air temperature at the food source. The slopes of the curves depend on the temperature range (Fig. 4).With bees, the volume of load per trip depends on the size of the rectal bladder (Fig. 5)
In a bee room the state of the generalized food supply was varied by offering sucrose solutions of different concentrations to the foragers. The (Fig. 1)
The rate of supply of sucrose solution at an artificial food source was varied by means of a pump, while the concentration of the solution and the temperature at the food source were kept constant. The behaviour of the collector wasps was found to change in correlation with the supply rate, in several respects.
As rate of supply increases
the duration of sojourn at the food source decreases;
the volume of solution removed per h increases;
the number of single visits during a sojourn and per h decreases;
the duration of single visits increases, except that at extremely high supply rates the single visits become shorter.
The waiting time (Saugwartezeit) does not depend on supply rate.
Comparison of these wasp data with related observations of honeybees (Apis mellifera) supports inferences regarding the motivation of collector wasps and, in view of the frequency of their single visits, about their suitability as potential pollinators of the flowers from which they collect.
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