Pollen consumption in worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in dependence on individual age
1993
Crailsheim, K. (Graz Univ. (Austria). Inst. fuer Zoologie) | Schneider, L.H.W. | Hrassnigg, N. | Buehlmann, G. | Brosch, U. | Schoeffmann, B. | Gmeinbauer, R.
The pollen content of the gastrointestinal tract of honeybee workers (Apis mellifera carnica Pollm.) was investigated in the morning before the beginning of flight activity. It was small in young bees, was largest in 4- to 9-day-old nurse bees and declined to minimal amounts in foragers. In all age groups, the amount of pollen in the bees was representative and appropriate to the respective status in the system of division of labour. It could be correlated to the developmental stage of the hypopharyngeal glands and to the known content of proteolytic enzymes in the mitgut. The known age structure of the colonies permits an estimation of amount of pollen in the gastrointestinal tract of all workers in the colony. From the results a pollen requirement of 13.4 and 17.8 kg was calculated for the two colonies investigated
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