Effect of Empty Comb on Hoarding Behavior and Honey Production of the Honey Bee

Honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in laboratory cages supplied with either 46.75, 93.50, or 140.25 cm2 of comb surface area (CSA) hoarded 0.105, 0.135, and 0.188 ml of sucrose solution/bee/day. These differences are highly significant. Field colonies of honey bees were supplied with empty honey storage combs having either 4.06 or 1.88 m2 of CSA. Resultant colony weight gains were 51 and 36 kg, respectively. The colonies were then moved to a 2nd apiary location and the CSA treatments were reversed using fresh storage combs. At the 2nd apiary location, 4.06 and 1.88 m2 of CSA resulted in 58 and 47 kg of colony weight gain, respectively. Analysis of variance showed the difference in response to treatment was highly significant. Under both laboratory and field conditions greater CSA resulted in greater nectar gathering by honey bees. These experiments support the hypothesis that empty comb functions as a stimulus of nectar-foraging behavior.