Measuring honey bee feeding rhythms with the BeeBox, a platform for nectar foraging insects

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior
• Chronobiology
• Insect physiology

Background:

• Circadian rhythms in honey bees are typically studied via locomotion.
• Feeding is crucial for honey bee health but its circadian rhythm remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the BeeBox, a novel Skinner box-inspired platform for assessing honey bee feeding rhythms.
• To investigate honey bee feeding patterns under different light/dark conditions.

Main Methods:

• The BeeBox platform dispenses controlled sucrose syrup amounts to bees entering an artificial flower.
• Honey bee groups were exposed to 12h:12h light/dark, constant darkness, and constant light cycles.
• Average hourly syrup consumption and mortality were recorded.

Main Results:

• Honey bee food intake was higher in constant light and lower in constant darkness.
• Mortality rates increased significantly under constant light conditions.
• Rhythmic feeding patterns with periods longer than 24 hours were observed, persisting in darkness but diminishing in constant light.

Conclusions:

• The BeeBox effectively demonstrates circadian rhythms in honey bee feeding behavior.
• Environmental light conditions significantly influence feeding patterns and survival.
• The BeeBox platform opens new avenues for studying foraging behavior in nectar-feeding animals.