Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 27;12(1):12796. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-16168-5.
Honey bees are vital pollinators and can be used to monitor the landscape. Consequently, interest in mounting technologies onto bees to track foraging behaviors is increasing. The barrier to entry is steep, in part because the methodology for fastening tags to bees, and the success rates, are often missing from publications. We tested six factors suspected to influence the presence and tag retention rates of nurse honey bees after their introduction to hives, and followed bees until foraging age. We also compared reintroducing foragers to their maternal colony using the best method for nurse bees to releasing them in front of their maternal hive and allowing them to fly back unaided. Nurses were most likely to be present in the hive with their tag still attached when introduced using an introduction cage at night. Glue type was important, but may further be influenced by tag material. Foragers were most likely to be present with a tag attached if released in front of their colony. Preparation and introduction techniques influence the likelihood of tagged honey bee survival and of the tags remaining attached, which should be considered when executing honey bee tagging and tracking experiments.
蜜蜂是至关重要的传粉媒介，可用于监测景观。因此，人们越来越感兴趣地将追踪觅食行为的技术应用于蜜蜂。但这项技术的进入门槛很高，部分原因是将标签固定在蜜蜂身上的方法以及标签固定成功率往往在出版物中缺失。我们测试了六个被认为会影响引入蜂群后的蜜囊蜜蜂的存在和标签保留率的因素，并在蜜蜂达到觅食年龄之前一直对其进行跟踪。我们还比较了使用最佳方法将采集蜂重新引入其母蜂群的情况，即将它们放在母蜂箱前，让它们自行飞回。当在夜间使用引入笼引入时，带有标签的蜜囊蜜蜂最有可能仍在蜂箱中。胶的类型很重要，但可能会进一步受到标签材料的影响。如果在采集蜂的蜂群前释放，它们最有可能带有标签。准备和引入技术会影响带有标签的蜜蜂的生存和标签的附着概率，在执行蜜蜂标记和跟踪实验时应考虑这些因素。
