Pollen collecting behaviour of Apis mellifera during one day

Abstract

We left pollen traps in two hives at Hinojos (Huelva, Spain) for two days. We removed the pollen loads accumulating on the trays of the trap four times each day and studied their botanical origin. In the two days of sampling, the number of pollen resources and their relative intensity of exploitation varied through the day. Pollen collection was more diverse in the central parts of the day, whereas the use of resources tended to be progressively more uniform through the day.