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Friday, February 26, 2021 by: Divina Ramirez
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https://www.afinalwarning.com/495981.html (Natural News) From spring through summer, both bumblebees and honeybees can be observed visiting the same flowers. Yet interestingly enough, these two bee species do not compete with each other for resources. And scientists know why.
In a study published early this month, researchers at the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI) at England’s
The findings, which appeared in the journal
Ecology, showed that bumblebees move between flowers faster than honeybees. However, they use up nearly twice as much energy as honeybees because they are nearly twice as heavy. So what bumblebees gain in terms of energy from nectar via their greater flower-visiting rate is canceled out by their greater weight.
A bumble bee foraging on lavender. Photo taken by Prof Francis Ratnieks A honey bee foraging on lavender. Photo taken by Prof Francis Ratnieks.
As abundant and widespread bees, it is common to see both bumble bees and honey bees foraging on the same flower species during the summer, whether in Britain or many other countries.
Yet researchers at the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI) at the University of Sussex, show that these two different bees dominate on different flower species and have found out why.
By studying 22 flower species in southern England and analysing the behaviour of more than 1000 bees, they found that ‘energy efficiency’ is a key factor when it comes to mediating competition.