Competition for resources: What factors lead honey bees to outcompete other insect competitors?

Abstract

The foraging activity of managed honey bees, Apis mellifera, is crucial for collecting food supplies for colonies. Beekeepers place their colonies temporarily in selected flowering areas for the pollination of specific crops (e.g., almonds) or for the production of valuable bee products such as honey and pollen, or for both purposes. However, competition between honey bee foragers and other flower-visiting insects can arise in these chosen areas. This rivalry can have a negative impact on the efficiency of honey bees as pollinators and reduce productivity from colonies. Various factors can help forager bees temporarily overcome their competitors during the blossom period. Understanding these factors is crucial for optimizing foraging efficiency to ensure high productivity from colonies or achieve targeted pollination efficiently. This mini-review examines recent literature on resource competition between honey bees and other flower-visiting insects, as well as related topics on honey bee foraging behavior on floral resources. It aims to explore and discuss the key factors that enable honey bee foragers to temporarily outcompete other rivals. The article underscores the importance of landscape structure, honey bee subspecies, and colony health in managing floral resources. Moreover, it highlights the critical role of colony numbers and their distribution. Considerations regarding the behavioral plasticity of honey bees in response to other floral visitors have been discussed, alongside the examination of favorable foraging conditions. This article provides a valuable overview of the management of honey bee foraging ecology, identifying knowledge gaps and suggesting future research avenues.