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Bumblebees Do Not Respond to Variance in Nectar Concentration
Author(s) -
Waddington Keith D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
ethology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0179-1613
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1995.tb00342.x
Subject(s) - nectar , foraging , biology , apidae , apoidea , preference , optimal foraging theory , botany , hymenoptera , ecology , pollen , statistics , mathematics
Worker bumblebees ( Bombus fervidus ) were given repeated binary choices between two colors of artificial flowers with the same associated mean nectar concentration (X̄ = 20%), but with different variances in nectar concentration. Flowers of one color, yellow or blue, rewarded a bee with 1 μl of 20% sucrose solution (low‐variance flower type) on each visit (p = 1) and flowers of the other color rewarded a bee on each visit with 1 μl of either 10% or 30% sucrose (p = 0.5; high‐variance flower type). Of the 10 bees tested, nine showed no preference for either the high‐ or low‐variance flowers (indifferent or risk‐insensitive). This result is similar to honeybee responses to variation in nectar concentration, despite differences in foraging ecology between bumblebees and honeybees. Flower‐choice behaviour in the presence of variance in nectar concentration is a response to the expected concentration of the alternative flower types. Possible mechanisms of risk‐sensitive foraging behaviour in bees are discussed.