Attracting Honeybees to Alfalfa with Citral, Geraniol and Anise

Summary

When plots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were sprayed with citral, geraniol, anise, and sucrose in factorial treatment-combinations, plots treated with two or three scents in sucrose solution were more attractive to honeybees than plots treated with only one scent. Geraniol was generally more attractive than citral when it was applied in a solution containing 5 or 10% sucrose, but less attractive than citral when applied in water. The synergistic effect between citral and geraniol was no greater than that between citral and anise or geraniol and anise.