TROPHALLAXIS IN HONEY-BEES - TRANSFER DELAY AND DAILY MODULATION

Trophallactic behaviour of donor honey bees, Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola, fed at two feeders with different volumes of a 50% weight/weight sucrose solution, at different flow rates, was studied in an experimental arena. Transfer delay (i.e. the time up to the first trophallactic contact between partners) decreased as the crop load of donor bees increased. Donor bees that attained the same final crop load but spent more or less time drinking at the feeder, because of differences in the flow rate, decreased the transfer delay when the flow rate of feeding increased. As crop load increases with the flow rate of the food source, donor foragers could indicate by their transfer delay how profitable a food source is. Transfer delays also varied throughout the day, being shortest in the morning (0800-1200 hours) for all crop loads tested. © 1993 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. All rights reserved.