Bees use multiple cues in hunt for pollen

Date: November 8, 2016

Source: University of Exeter


Bees use a variety of senses and memory of previous experiences when deciding where to forage for pollen, research by the University of Exeter suggests.

The researchers believe pollen-collecting bees do not base their foraging decisions on taste alone, but instead make an "overall sensory assessment" of their experience at a particular flower.

Bees typically do not eat pollen when they collect it from flowers, but carry it back to the nest via special "sacs" on their legs or hairs on their body.

This makes it difficult to understand how bees judge whether the pollen a flower produces is nutritious enough for their young.

Indeed, researchers have been puzzled for a long time as to what exactly bees look for when they collect pollen from flowers.

Co-author Dr Natalie Hempel de Ibarra, expert in insect neuroethology at Exeter's Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, said: "It seems that bees don't just respond to a single nutritional compound in pollen, such as crude protein content, but to a range of sensory cues in pollen and flowers.

"They also form memories for locations and types of flowers that they have visited which affect their foraging decisions.

"We need more research that considers the behaviour and neurobiology of bees to understand when and why they prefer some plants and some pollen over others.

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Bees behaving badly: bumblebees steal pollen from rivals

Bees are thieves, stealing pollen and nectar from nearby nests, scientists have discovered

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

4:32PM BST 15 Sep 2015

With their stripy jerseys and built-in pollen swag bags it might come as no surprise that bumblebees have been found to be nature’s burglars.

For the first time bees have been spotted stealing pollen and nectar from neighbouring nests.

Bee experts at the University of Sussex placed tracking devices on insects from three colonies in farmland in East Sussex to monitor how far they travelled in search of pollen-rich flowers.

But they were amazed to find that for one in eight bees the prospect of a hard day flitting from flower to flower was clearly too much effort. Instead they simply flew to nearby nests and pilfered the pollen and nectar that was already stored there.

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Spiders opt for a side portion of veg with their meat

Far from being purely meat eaters it appears that some species of spider opt for a side portion of vegetable matter with their protein. A study by researchers from Exeter University has discovered that some orb spiders will eat pollen as well as predating on insects and that pollen can make up 25% of a spiders diet.

Dr Dirk Sanders of the University of Exeter demonstrated that orb web spiders – like the common garden variety – choose to eat pollen even when insects are available. He explained, “Most people and researchers think of spiders as pure carnivores, but in this family of orb web spiders that is not the case. We have demonstrated that the spiders feed on pollen caught in their webs, even if they have additional food, and that it forms an important part of their nourishment.

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