A Comparative Study of Food Source Selection in Stingless Bees and Honeybees: Scent Marks, Location, or Color.

ABSTRACT: In social bees, the choice of food sources is based on several factors, including scent marks, color, and location of flowers. Here, we used similar setups, in which two stingless bee species, Melipona subnitida and Plebeia flavocincta, and the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera, were tested regarding the importance of chemical cues, color cues, and location-dependent cues for foraging behavior. It was determined whether workers chose food sources according to (1) scent marks deposited by conspecifics, (2) the color hue of a food source, (3) the trained location or the proximity of a food source to the hive. All three species preferred the scent-marked over an unmarked feeder that was presented simultaneously, but M. subnitida showed a weaker preference compared to the other species. When tr

SUBMITTER: Koethe S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7218124 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature