Summary
Three Japanese species of Impatiens, which secrete nectar continuously in long spurs, were visited by Bombus diversus workers consecutively throughout the day. B. diversus workers showed characteristic patterns of behavior in flower use, flower choice, and patch departure. (1) Bumblebees stayed longer on a flower which had been unvisited for a while than on a flower which had been visited recently. (2) Bumblebees preferred visiting flowers which had been unvisited for a while to visiting those which had been visited recently, and to visiting those which had been unvisited for a long period. (3) Bumblebees had a higher probability of leaving a patch after they had stayed on a flower for a short period than after they had stayed for a longer period. The bumblebees appeared to perceive both remotely and proximately chemical cues deposited by other foraging individuals, which indicated nectar rewards in a flower, and thus obtained a higher nectar intake than the mean amount of nectar left in a flower.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Cameron SA (1981) Chemical signals in bumble bee foraging. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 9:257–260
Heinrich B (1975) Energetics of pollination. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 6:139–170
Heinrich B (1979) Resource heterogeneity and patterns of movements in foraging bumblebees. Oecologia 40:235–245
Hartling LK, Plowright RC (1979) Foraging by bumble bees on patches of artificial flowers: a laboratory study. Can J Zool 57:1866–1870
Hodges CM (1981) Optimal foraging in bumblebees: hunting by expectation. Anim Behav 29:1166–1171
Marden JH (1984) Remote perception of floral nectar by bumblebees. Oecologia 64:233–240
Rust RW (1977) Pollinaton in Impatiens capensis and Impatiens pallida (Balsaminaceae). Bull Torrey Bot Club 104:361–367
Rust RW (1979) Pollination of Impatiens capensis: Pollinators and nectar robbers. J Kansas Entomol Soc 52:297–308
Thomson JD, Maddison WP, Plowright RC (1982) Behavior of bumble bee pollinators of Aralia hispida Vent. (Araliaceae). Oecologia 54:326–336
Waddington KD (1981) Factors influencing pollen flow in bumblebee-pollinated Delphinium virescens. Oikos 37:153–159
Waddington KD, Allen T, Heinrich B (1981) Floral preferences of bumblebees (Bombus edwardsii) in relation to intermittent versus continuous rewards. Anim Behav 29:779–784
Zimmerman M (1982) The effect of nectar production on neighborhood size. Oecologia 52:104–108
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kato, M. Bumblebee visits to Impatiens spp.: pattern and efficiency. Oecologia 76, 364–370 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377030
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377030