Studies on the Honey-Sac Contents and Pollen Loads of Honeybees 2. Honey-Sac Contents of Foraging Bees

Summary

Honey-sac weights, and sugar and pollen concentrations of honey-sac contents, of outward-bound foragers and returning nectar foragers were determined during two years. Colony growth and daily nectar income were also recorded.

The honey-sac contents of returning nectar foragers were heavier in both years than those of outgoing foragers; in nectar foragers the heaviest weights were recorded during the main nectar flows, but in outgoing foragers the weights remained relatively stable. Sugar concentrations in the honey sacs of returning foragers were highest during the nectar flows; in outgoing foragers there was an overall decrease in concentration as the season progressed in 1969, but not in 1970. The lack of correlation between the patterns of sugar concentration for the two groups of foragers suggests that little interfeeding occurred between them. The concentrations of pollen in the honey sacs were lower for outgoing foragers in 1969 than for returning nectar foragers (except in June), but in 1970 no such trend was observed.