Short-term effects of simulated bad weather conditions upon the behaviour of food-storer honeybees during day and night (Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann)

Abstract

-In an observation hive with about 5 000 bees, food-storers were classified by their behaviour (taking food from foragers and transporting it to the food-storing region) and then observed during day and night under good and bad (rainy) weather conditions. All food-storers were 13-19 days old. They were highly active at times of nectar flow, spending most of their time on the dance floor. At times of no food income, they stayed mostly in the broodnest and on the food stores, and were inactive 70 % of the time, which might save energy for the colony; they did not take over any duties from other temporal castes. A pronounced day and night rhythm in food-storer behaviour was recorded only when there was a nectar flow. Food donations and receptions were most pronounced on good weather days, but regardless of weather and time of the day these mostly occurred in the broodnest. The importance of these patterns is discussed. © Inra/DIB/AGIB/Elsevier, Paris social behaviour / division of labour / day and night / weather

Pesticide risk assessment in free-ranging bees is weather and landscape dependent

“…Using previously published colony dynamics parameters 11 , we found this critical slowdown is triggered at a mortality rate because of HF m HF 40. 15, that is, if non-returning treated bees represent more than 15% of returning bees, one might expect from the control. For the sake of illustration, we therefore targeted a critical m HF value of 20% and mapped the corresponding required thiamethoxam dose, called ED 20 (Fig.…”

“…Herein, Navigation Evironmental Correlate, thereafter abbreviated as NECs, refer to those extrinsic drivers of bee navigation and flight performances, comprising weather conditions (temperature, cloudiness or visibility of sun) and salient landmarks acting as visual cues for orientation [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] . Homing honeybees rely on a network of learned interconnected vectors for orientation 18 , conceptualized as memorized distances and directions among known locations.…”

Investigating the importance of altitude and weather conditions for the production of toxic honey in New Zealand

“…Diurnal temperatures in this study were unlikely to have fallen below this temperature threshold, a possible explanation for the absence of a relationship between honey bee presence and temperature. Rainfall is known to prevent honey bees from foraging; bees either return to the hive when they detect impending rain or they remain in the hive while it is raining (Crailsheim et al 1999) and so a strong effect of rainfall was expected. That this was not observed indicates that there are other factors contributing to the presence or absence of honey bees at tutu bushes.…”

Intergenerational transfers may have decoupled physiological and chronological age in a eusocial insect

“…The activities within a bee colony are easy to quantify, and patterns of nursing and food exchange have been studied thoroughly (e.g., Riessberger and Crailsheim, 1997;Crailsheim et al, 1999). Honey bees have three types of colony members: queens, males (drones) and workers.…”

“…Trophallactic interactions are non-random, and they depend on factors such as sex and age of the receiver and donor, food availability and quality, time of day, weather and season (Riessberger and Crailsheim, 1997;Crailsheim, 1998;Crailsheim et al, 1999). Two main commodities are transferred by trophallaxis: (i) floral nectar, which provides the bees with carbohydrates.…”