Nutritional complexity and the structure of bee foraging bouts

Jacob S. Francis, Felicity Muth, Daniel R. Papaj and Anne S. Leonard

Behavioral Ecology, 2016, vol. 27, issue 3, 903-911

Abstract: Lay Summary Many plants reward pollinators with nectar (carbohydrates) and pollen (protein), yet little is known about how bees structure their collection of these 2 resources. We found that bumble bees use information about both the nutritional needs of their colony and floral resources when making decisions about which resources to collect and in what order. These findings offer insight into the ecological consequences of nutritionally diverse floral rewards.

Keywords: floral constancy; floral rewards; foraging; nectar; nutritional ecology; pollen; pollination; social insect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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