Laboratory Measurement of Honey Production in the Honeybee I. A Model for Hoarding Behaviour by Caged Workers

Abstract

The relationship was examined between honey production by 14 colonies and hoarding behaviour by workers from these colonies in laboratory cages. Hoarding of sugar syrup in the test cages (wt/bee/day) on days 5–15 after emergence seemed to be correlated with honey production. Hoarding on days 7–9 was highly correlated with colony weight gain (r = +0·684, P < 0·01), on days 5–6 and 10–15 less so, and on days 1–4 and 16–20 not at all. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences between source colonies for hoarding on days 7–9 (P < 0·001). These results provide the basis for a model of hoarding behaviour, in which hoarding in the cage on days 5–15, and particularly days 7–9, is related to honey production. Workers held for their first 7 days in a colony hoard syrup during the next 3 days similarly to newly emerged workers, not like workers 8–10 days old. The correlation for days 7–9 in the cages was apparently due to adjustment to life in a cage, after which amount of syrup they hoard falls into relationship with their colony's production. This measurement of hoarding behaviour, unlike previously reported measurements, seems likely to be useful in a honeybee selection programme for increased production.