Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour
Honey bees are globally regarded as important crop pollinators and are also valued for their honey production. They have been introduced on an almost worldwide scale. During recent years, however, several studies argue their possible competition with unmanaged pollinators. Here we examine the possib...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Apicultural Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2016-0007 |
| _version_ | 1819120820645003264 |
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| author | Goras Georgios Tananaki Chrysoula Dimou Maria Tscheulin Thomas Petanidou Theodora Thrasyvoulou Andreas |
| author_facet | Goras Georgios Tananaki Chrysoula Dimou Maria Tscheulin Thomas Petanidou Theodora Thrasyvoulou Andreas |
| author_sort | Goras Georgios |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Honey bees are globally regarded as important crop pollinators and are also valued for their honey production. They have been introduced on an almost worldwide scale. During recent years, however, several studies argue their possible competition with unmanaged pollinators. Here we examine the possible effects of honey bees on the foraging behaviour of wild bees on Cistus creticus flowers in Northern Greece. We gradually introduced one, five, and eight honey-bee hives per site, each containing ca. 20,000 workers. The visitation frequency and visit duration of wild bees before and after the beehive introductions were measured by flower observation. While the visitation frequencies of wild bees were unaffected, the average time wild bees spent on C. creticus increased with the introduction of the honey-bee hives. Although competition between honey bees and wild bees is often expected, we did not find any clear evidence for significant effects even in honey-bee densities much higher than the European-wide average of 3.1 colonies/km2. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:26:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89360d7a2b8a461fb894ce4d16107e2c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2299-4831 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T06:26:45Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Apicultural Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-89360d7a2b8a461fb894ce4d16107e2c2022-12-21T18:35:50ZengSciendoJournal of Apicultural Science2299-48312016-06-01601496210.1515/jas-2016-0007jas-2016-0007Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviourGoras Georgios0Tananaki Chrysoula1Dimou Maria2Tscheulin Thomas3Petanidou Theodora4Thrasyvoulou Andreas5Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, GreeceLaboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, GreeceLaboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceHoney bees are globally regarded as important crop pollinators and are also valued for their honey production. They have been introduced on an almost worldwide scale. During recent years, however, several studies argue their possible competition with unmanaged pollinators. Here we examine the possible effects of honey bees on the foraging behaviour of wild bees on Cistus creticus flowers in Northern Greece. We gradually introduced one, five, and eight honey-bee hives per site, each containing ca. 20,000 workers. The visitation frequency and visit duration of wild bees before and after the beehive introductions were measured by flower observation. While the visitation frequencies of wild bees were unaffected, the average time wild bees spent on C. creticus increased with the introduction of the honey-bee hives. Although competition between honey bees and wild bees is often expected, we did not find any clear evidence for significant effects even in honey-bee densities much higher than the European-wide average of 3.1 colonies/km2.https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2016-0007apis melliferacistus creticuscompetitionmediterraneannative bees |
| spellingShingle | Goras Georgios Tananaki Chrysoula Dimou Maria Tscheulin Thomas Petanidou Theodora Thrasyvoulou Andreas Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour Journal of Apicultural Science apis mellifera cistus creticus competition mediterranean native bees |
| title | Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| title_full | Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| title_fullStr | Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| title_short | Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| title_sort | impact of honeybee apis mellifera l density on wild bee foraging behaviour |
| topic | apis mellifera cistus creticus competition mediterranean native bees |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2016-0007 |
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