Field Test of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colony Defensive Behavior1

Abstract

A method is described for evaluating honey bee colony defensive behavior. Three types of stimuli are presented successively: a synthetic alarm pheromone (chemical), a marble shot at the colony (physical), and mechanically jiggled blue suede targets (visual-tactual). The presentation of each stimulus in order elicits four discrete steps of defensive behavior: alerting, activating, attracting, and culminating.