Nectar Flows and Comb-Building

Abstract

In temperate zones, the onset of comb-building is associated with warm fronts, the more intense and closer together, the greater the colony response. European A. mellifera are commonly dormant during winter, but Asian bees are active during the tropical dry season. Comb-building occurs during the dry season and the rainy season is their dormant period. Some plants flower during the rainy season and provide sufficient forage for the dwarf honeybees to complete their comb within three weeks. Large A. dorsata colonies cannot subsist on such meager resources and seasonally migrate. Comb-building pulses require that comb fullness reach a threshold, with a balance of brood and stored food. Comb-building peaks are correlated with high comb fullness and with correlations between daily nectar intake and comb construction. Wax production is reduced in the absence of a nectar flow; likewise, the greater the supply of combs in the nest, the greater the increase in number of nectar foragers. Nectar forage, empty combs and free building space within the nest are correlated with engorgement of the honey stomach and wax secretion in workers. Once building has begun, the colony will monitor only nectar intake to control comb-building. They build when nectar can be collected in the field and the combs are filled above their thresholds for comb fullness and nectar intake. The amount of wax is constant among age cohorts and across the seasons. About half of the wax in a colony is borne by festoon bees, the remainder from non-festoon bees, except in winter when non-festoon wax production is higher than festoon wax production.