Atividade de voo e comportamento forrageiro de abelhas (Apis mellifera) africanizadas no município de Rio Largo – AL

Abstract

The present work aimed at evaluating the flight activity and foraging behavior (type of resource collected) by Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera sp.) from October to December 2022, in the municipality of Rio Largo – Alagoas State, Brazil. Three colonies of Africanized honeybees were used. Flight activity, foraging behavior, as well as brood areas (capped and uncapped) and food storage (honey and pollen) were evaluated every fifteen days. Flight activity was recorded during the first 10 minutes of each hour, using a camera (GOPRO HD HERO) positioned next to the entrance of each hive, from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm. Foraging behavior was evaluated by the resource brought back by the foragers (pollen, nectar or water). Brood and food storage were evaluated by mapping each colony according to the method of Al-Tikrity et al. (1971). Temperature, relative humidity and precipitation data were obtained from the local Automatic Agrometeorological Station of the University. A completely randomized design with repeated measurements in time was used. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and their effects were evaluated using Tukey test at 5% probability and Pearson ́s correlations. A statistical difference was found between days for flight activity and nectar foraging. In all colonies the bees remained active throughout the day. Pollen collections were concentrated in the morning, from 6:00 am to 10:00 am, with a gradual reduction from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. No significant difference was observed between times for nectar/water foraging. The percentage of nectar/water collection varied from 74.18 to 82.12%, and pollen collection varied from 17.88 to 25.82% among colonies. There was no correlation between external factors. Regarding internal factors, a moderate to strong positive correlation between the open brood area and pollen foraging was observed. It is concluded that the internal condition of the nest can influence flight activity as well as foraging behavior in Africanized honeybees.