Influence of environmental and colony factors on the initial commodity choice of foragers of the stingless bee Plebeia tobagoensis (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)

Abstract

Novice foragers of social bees have to decide what food commodity to collect when they start foraging for the first time. In this decision making process two types of factors are involved: internal factors (the response threshold) and external factors (environmental and colony conditions). In this study we will focus on the importance of two external factors, pollen storage level and information from experienced foragers about food availability in the field, on the initial commodity choice of foragers of the stingless bee species Plebeia tobagoensis. We also studied the effect of the initial choice of individuals on their subsequent foraging career. This study was performed in a closed greenhouse compartment, where food availability and colony condition could be controlled.Information on food availability in the field from experienced foragers and pollen storage level both greatly influenced the initial commodity choice of individuals, with more choices for the commodity communicated by experienced foragers or lacking in storage. The initial choice of foragers is of importance for their future foraging career, although a substantial proportion of foragers did switch between food commodities. Because of the ability of novice foragers to become flexibly distributed over foraging tasks, social bees are able to react to changes in their environment without directly having to decrease foraging effort devoted to other foraging tasks. This, in combination with individual flexibility during foraging careers makes it possible for colonies of P. tobagoensis to forage efficiently in an ever-changing environment.

Influência dos Fatores Ambientais e da Quantidade de Néctar na Atividade de Forrageio de Abelhas em Flores de Adenocalymma bracteatum (Cham.) DC. (Bignoniaceae)

“…As abelhas também são capazes de se ajustarem para a coleta de recursos em resposta às condições climáticas (hoFstede & soMMeijeR 2006). A maioria das espécies de abelhas aumenta a atividade de forrageio nos períodos em que a temperatura e a intensidade luminosa estejam elevadas, e tanto a umidade relativa do ar, quanto a velocidade do vento estejam baixas (soMMeijeR et al 1983;hiLáRio et al 2000;kasPeR et al 2008).…”

Foraging Activity inPlebeia remota, a Stingless Bees Species, Is Influenced by the Reproductive State of a Colony

“…Climatic factors such as temperature, light intensity, wind, rain, and relative humidity, as well as plant resource availability, influence foraging. Colony internal factors, such as population size and amount of stored food, also influence the foraging behavior of the individual bees and of the colony [2,4,[8][9][10][11][12].…”

Pollen foraging in colonies of Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini): effects of season, colony size and queen number

“…The mean P:E value for November and December was 13.16%; it increased to 37.15% when there was "big bang" flowering. Consequently, we can see that the internal needs of the colonies (intra-colonial factors) drive their harvesting behavior (Roubik, 1989;Hilário et al, 2000Hilário et al, , 2003Biesmeijer and Slaa, 2004;Hofstede and Sommeijer, 2006).…”

“…Intra-colonial factors can also influence the foraging behavior of the bees (Roubik, 1989;Hilário et al, 2000Hilário et al, , 2003Biesmeijer and Slaa, 2004;Hofstede and Sommeijer, 2006). Pollen storage and pollen harvesting are related to colony size (number of individuals) and worker behavior, since larger colonies have more individuals and foragers than smaller ones (Roubik, 1982).…”