Honey bees normally feed only on floral pollen and nectar. Among floral taxa, they feed on a wide variety of species, many of which contain different plant natural products. Despite the differences in "secondary" plant chemistry among their foods, honey bees are remarkably adept at distinguishing pollen from non pollen. And they tend to consume non pollen poorly, if at all. We report the role of phagostimulants derived from pollen in the selection and acceptance of laboratory diets by honey bees and the subsequent nutritional benefit of various diets enhanced with pollen phagostimulants.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (honey bee)
Keywords: Phagostimulants, nutrition
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