The Foraging Behavior of the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, L.)

Dr. John Purdy is a corporate environmental consultant and research scientist for Abacus Consulting Services in Canada. He received his MSc in Chemistry and Forestry, then his PhD in Chemistry, both from the University of Toronto. His work includes ground-breaking research on environmental behavior and modeling of pesticides, ecotoxicology, and effects of pesticides on bees. His primary research interests are honey bees and other insect pollinators. Dr. Purdy is a co-chair of the annual pollinator risk assessment of the American Chemical Society, a member of the International Commission for Plant Pollinator Relationships, and more.

"...an introduction to the foraging ecology of the world’s dominant pollinating insect, the western honey bee.... The introductory chapter is especially good [and] includes an especially complete illustration and table detailing important clades from the ancestral Hymenoptera, through the origin of true bees from ammoplanine (thrips hunting) wasps, and up to the groups within the family Apidae, tribe Apini, and species of the largely paleotropical honey bee genus Apis. Geological time estimates, and supporting references, are given for these evolutionary changes that are rarely present in other volumes on honey bees and their biology.... Another excellent discussion is Chapter 6 on pollination ecology...." --Stephen L. Buchmann, The Quarterly Review of Biology

• 1. Introduction to honey bee foraging2. Honey bee adaptations for foraging3. Honey bee foraging behavior, navigation, communication, and search patterns of individual bees4. Energetics of foraging5. Pollination and foraging ecology of individual honey bees6. Delivery of resources by returning foragers7. Colony-level adaptations for foraging8. Modeling of colony and bee behavior9. Honey bees as livestock10. Specialized foraging – robbing, swarming, absconding11. Knowledge gaps and future directions