C. Dreller et al., Regulation of pollen foraging in honeybee colonies: effects of young brood, stored pollen, and empty space, BEHAV ECO S, 45(3-4), 1999, pp. 227-233
Pollen storage in a colony of Apis mellifera is actively regulated by incre
asing and decreasing pollen foraging according to the "colony's needs." It
has been shown that nectar foragers indirectly gather information about the
nectar supply of the colony from nestmates without estimating the amount o
f honey actually stored in the combs. Very little is known about how the ac
tual colony need is perceived with respect to pollen foraging. Two factors
influence the need for pollen: the quantity of pollen stored in cells and t
he amount of brood. To elucidate the mechanisms of perception, we changed t
he environment within normal-sized colonies by adding pollen or young brood
and measured the pollen-foraging activity, while foragers had either direc
t access to them or not. Our results show that the amount of stored pollen,
young brood, and empty space directly provide important stimuli that affec
t foraging behavior. Different mechanisms for forager perception of the cha
nge in the environment are discussed.