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The Foraging Behavior of the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, L.) provides a scholarly resource for knowledge on the regulation, communication, resource allocation, learning and characteristics of honeybee foraging behaviour at the individual and colony level. Foraging, in this context, is the exploration of the environment around a honey bee hive and the collection of resources (pollen, nectar, water, etc.) by bees in the worker caste of a colony. Honeybees have the unique ability to balance conflicting and changing resource needs in rapidly changing environments, thus their characterization as “superorganisms” made up of individuals who act in the interest of the whole.
This book explores the fascinating world of honey bees in their struggle to obtain food and resources in the ecosystem and environment around the hive. Written by a team of international experts on honey bee behaviour and ecology, this book covers current and historical knowledge, research methods and modelling used in the field of study and includes estimates of key parameters of energy utilization, quantities of materials collected, and identifies inconsistencies or gaps in current knowledge in the field.
1. Introduction to honey bee foraging
2. Honey bee adaptations for foraging
3. Honey bee foraging behavior, navigation, communication, and search patterns of individual bees
4. Energetics of foraging
5. Pollination and foraging ecology of individual honey bees
6. Delivery of resources by returning foragers
7. Colony-level adaptations for foraging
8. Modeling of colony and bee behavior
9. Honey bees as livestock
10. Specialized foraging – robbing, swarming, absconding
11. Knowledge gaps and future directions
Dr John Purdy is a corporate environmental consultant and research scientist for Abacus Consulting Services in Canada. He received his MSc in Chemistry and Forestry, and then his PhD in Chemistry, both from the University of Toronto. His work includes ground-breaking research on environmental behaviour and modelling of pesticides, ecotoxicology, and the effects of pesticides on bees. His primary research interests are honey bees and other insect pollinators. Dr Purdy is a co-chair of the annual pollinator risk assessment of the American Chemical Society, a member of the International Commission for Plant Pollinator Relationships, and more.
