Flower choice by the stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria is not influenced by colour-similarity to a higher-reward flower in the same patch

Caitlyn Y. Forste et.al.

School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia

Apidologie volume 54, Article number: 16 (2023)

In this study, stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria) was trained to visit highly rewarding artificial flowers (50% honey solution) within a patch that also contained two types of less-rewarding artificial flowers (20% honey solution): one of the same color (though different pattern) as the high-quality flower and one a different color (and pattern) to the other two flowers. It was found that, when available, high-quality flowers were always visited more than low-quality flowers. Under this condition, adjacent lower-quality flowers in the patch received similar levels of visitation, regardless of their color. When the reward was removed from the high-quality flower (simulating an emptied flower), foragers quickly switched to using the remaining two equal-quality flowers in the patch, but again showed no preference for the similar-colored flower.

These results indicate that T. carbonaria are adaptable foragers capable of quickly learning and responding to floral reward changes in their foraging environment. At least under the experimental conditions, there was no evidence that T. carbonaria floral choice is influenced by color similarity to a high-quality resource in the same foraging location.

Key points:

● Bees prefer high-quality flowers over low-quality flowers.

● Bees do not prefer flowers of the same color as a high-quality flower over flowers of a different color.

● Bees are adaptable foragers that can quickly learn and respond to changes in their environment.

The study is important because it helps us to understand how bees make decisions about which flowers to visit. This information is important for several reasons. First, it can help us to design more effective pollination strategies. For instance, more of these flowers can be planted in regions that require pollination if it is known that bees favour high-quality flowers. Second, with the aid of this knowledge, bees and their habitats can be safeguarded. For instance, measures can be done to minimise changes in the environment if it is known that bees are sensitive to them. Finally, with the aid of this knowledge, more can be discovered about the natural world. It is possible to obtain a better knowledge of how the natural world functions by learning how bees make decisions.

Here are some specific ways that the study’s findings could be used:
● Pollination strategies: Farmers could plant more high-quality flowers in their fields to attract bees and improve pollination.
● Bee protection: Governments could enact laws to protect bee habitats and reduce pollution.
● Bee research: Scientists could use the study’s findings to develop new methods for studying bees and their behaviour.

The study’s findings are important because they contribute to our understanding of how bees make decisions about which flowers to visit. This information can be used to improve pollination strategies, protect bees and their habitats, and conduct further research on bees.