| Abstrakt: |
The experiment was conducted in an innercity suburb in Thessaloniki, Greece, over a 46-day period (09/05-23/06/2008). In the first 24 days (from 09/05 - 01/06/08) forager bees from the only colony of Apis mellifera ligustica in the experimental area were trained to arrive from their hive to the final feeding station, located on the balcony on the fifth-floor of an apartment building. Undiluted honey and alternatively nonscented sugar syrup were used to train the bees. A log was kept on forager behavior for the entire experiment. The data of the present study concerns the observations made on the balcony, where a small group of 23 trained bees was formed on 1st June. From 1st to 17th June, eleven untrained bees appeared from the experimental colony on the balcony. This relatively low number of newcomers does not lend support to either of the dominant "dance language" or "odors only" hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
