Factors affecting the foraging behavior of bees in different maize hybrids

Abstract

Bees need pollen for their maintenance and development. Maize tassels (Zea mays L.) produce large amounts of pollen, which are visited by several bee species. This experiment was conducted in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, in 2013 with the objective to evaluate the factors affecting the foraging behavior of bees in different maize hybrids. For this purpose, we used the experimental design by randomized blocks. Seven treatments were repeated four times in experimental plots of 4.2 (6 lines) x 6.0 m (25.2 m2), in which borders of 0.70 m were kept clean in two plantings (January and April 2013). The genotypes used were (1) conventional maize 2B587® (control); (2) transgenic maize Powercore®; (3) YieldGard VT PRO®); (4) Viptera®; (5) Viptera 3®; (6) Herculex® and (7) Optimum Intrasect®. The frequency of visitations of bees to collect pollen was obtained by counting in the first five minutes each time, from 7:00 am to 11:00 am, with four and five replications (different days) in each hybrid in two plantings, respectively. The crude protein and weight of pollen and the tassels of different maize hybrids were evaluated. We have found the prevalence of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) visiting the maize tassels preferably between 7:00 am and 9:00 am exclusively for pollen collection. The most visited hybrids by Africanized honey bees were those with the highest amount of pollen in the collected samples.