Life Sciences Commons^™

The Foraging Behavior Of A Solitary Bee, Diadasia Nigrifrons (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae) On Sidalcea Oregana, Ssp. Oregana, Kimberly A. Kuta

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Foraging studies have established that bees typically obey a set of movement rules when foraging on vertical inflorescences: they begin foraging at the bottom of an inflorescence, move upward, visit a fraction of the available flowers, and leave before reaching the top of the inflorescence. These behaviors are purported to maximize bee foraging efficiency by concentrating their efforts on the most rewarding flowers and minimizing flower revisits. Bees also increase their efficiency by selecting inflorescences with many flowers, visiting more flowers per inflorescence, and remaining in resource-rich areas. To test these hypotheses on plants with more complicated flower arrangements, I …