FORAGING PAUSES AND THEIR MEANING AS AN ECONOMIC-STRATEGY IN THE HONEYBEE APIS-MELLIFERA L

When conditioned honeybees collect sucrose solution delivered at a ran ge of low-profit flow rates for the hive, they increase the pause leng th between successive visits. If sucrose solution was delivered contin uously, it accumulated at the food source in an amount proportional to the pause length and the flow rate of nectar. When the flow rate of s ucrose solution was further decreased but kept constant throughout the day, a threshold level was attained in which oscillations in the leng th of the pauses were observed. The relationship between the amount of accumulated nectar and subsequent pause length at this threshold leve l can be depicted by means of a power function. The best fit allowed t he calculation of the values of parameters that quantitatively describ e the control system regulating foraging activity. The importance of f oraging pauses as a strategy to cope with changing nectar availability is discussed.