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Do bumble bees favor flowers in large groups over those growing singly? This is an important question for bee conservation efforts and crop growers. If bees have a preference, plantings for bee forage can be arranged for maximum benefit to the bees. Growers can also benefit from this information by planting row crops in arrangements that will attract the most pollinators.
I'm also investigating whether bumble bees forage on one type of flower or several types during a single foraging trip. Flowers of different shapes require different handling skills, and bumble bees in Europe have been shown to stick to one flower type per trip. One hypothesis for this is that the bee is more efficient at handling flowers that require her to access the same skill set repeatedly. This research has not been duplicated in North America, so the results will be very interesting.
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All photos copyright Athena Rayne Anderson 2009
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