Distribution and Foraging Activities of Honeybees During Almond Pollination

SummaryA magnetic capture-recapture system was used to study the distribution and foraging activities of 1513 honeybees from 60 apiaries in 5 almond orchards (area 9 km2) in California, USA. Bees tended to forage near the apiary from which they flew. Where there was intense competition, owing to high hive densities, foragers dispersed to orchards containing fewer hives. There were significantly more foragers in populous than in small colonies, but the distance at which they foraged was not affected by colony size. The mean nectar load was 5·9 μl, and its mean sugar concentration 43·9%. Pollen collection and foraging distance were similar for Hy-Queen and for common Italian stocks.