Climatological Influences on the Flight Activity of Stingless Bees (Lepidotrigona hoozana) and Honeybees {Apis cerana) in Taiwan (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

摘要

The flight activities of the stingless bee Lepidotrigona hoozana and honeybee Apis cerana were studied diurnally and periodically to examine temporal and climactic foraging niche differentiation in Taiwan. Statistical analyses showed that the level offlight was correlated with the temperature and light intensity in both species. Both species could fly under dry and moderately wet conditions. We conducted a principle components analysis (PCA) to tease apart the effects of different environmental variables. The first PCA factor fori,, hoozana was temperature limits on flights and foraging. For^. cerana, the P C A revealed that light intensity was the most important limiting factor. In most cases, A. cerana foragers had more departure flights per unittime and spent more time flying than foragers of/,, hoozana. The minimum flight temperatures for L. hoozana ranged from 11°C to 16°C, and were higher than the minimum flight temperatures of 8°C to 10°C for A. cerana. Thus, A. cerana colonies exhibited greater flight activity during cooler times of the year than L. hoozana. This was more of a benefit in A. cerana than L. hoozana because of the physiological predominance.