Variation in food consumed by caged worker bees from different colonies
Author(s)
J. M. Kulinčević and W. C. Rothenbuhler
Abstract
Groups of 50 worker bees from 125 different colonies of Italian stock were tested in cages in three years of study. Repeated measures of food consumption were similar for single colonies. However, bees from different colonies varied significantly in the amount of food they required for survival during testing. Both this variation and the consistency of repeated measures within colonies suggest that food consumption is, at least in pan, genetically determined.
