Honey bee hoarding behaviour: Effects of previous stimulation by empty comb

Publication Type:
Journal Article
Year of Publication:
1979
Authors:
Thomas E. Rinderer, James R. Baxter
Publication/Journal:
Animal Behaviour
Keywords:
ISBN:
0003-3472
Abstract:

Hoarding experiments were performed utilizing the transfer of honey bees (Apis mellifera) from cages with large or small amounts of empty honeycomb to cages with equal, greater, or lesser amounts. Results confirmed that empty comb stimulates hoarding. Furthermore, bees that were transferred from a small to a greater amount of comb hoarded significantly more than control bees, indicating that stimulus deprivation followed by stimulus enrichment increases the strength of the hoarding response.

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