Evaluating honey bee foraging behaviour and their impact on pollination success in a mixed almond orchard
- Estravis Barcala, Maria Cecilia
- Sáez, Agustín
- Graziani, Milagros M.
- Negri, Pedro
- Viel, Matias
- Farina, Walter Marcelo
DOIAbstract
Although Apis mellifera is the dominant managed pollinator used to enhance crop production, the variation of its foraging behaviour among crop-cultivars is not considered as a factor influencing pollination success and, thus, yield. Almond production is highly dependent on cross-pollination. Herein, we examined honey bees foraging behaviour and pollen limitation in ‘Nonpareil’ and ‘Independence’ cultivars. Nectar and pollen-foragers differed in the flower handling behaviour, regardless of the cultivar. However, most bees on ‘Independence’ flowers collected pollen in the morning and bees exhibited less floral constancy in this cultivar, potentially promoting cross-pollination. Also, supplementation of ‘Nonpareil’ flowers with ‘Independence’ ...
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