Honey Bee Foraging Ecology: Optimal Diet, Minimal Uncertainty or Individual Constancy?

Abstract

SUMMARY (1) Experiments using honey bees and artificial flower patches were designed to test three alternative foraging ecology models: optimal diet, minimal uncertainty, and individual constancy. Honey bee responses to a mixed colour flower patch and to flower morph associated differences in reward quantity, quality, and frequency were measured. (2) Each honey bee visiting a patch of randomly distributed blue and yellow flowers was constant to one colour, even though that behaviour was suboptimal. (3) When reward quantity was unequal between the two flower morphs each bee was constant to one colour, even though that behaviour often resulted in suboptimal reward. (4) When reward quality was unequal between the two colour morphs each bee was constant to one colour, even though that behaviour often resulted in suboptimal reward. (5) When reward frequency was higher in one flower morph than in the other each bee was constant to one colour, even though that behaviour often failed to maximize reward or minimize uncertainty.