Use of pollen traps to investigate the foraging behaviour of honey bee colonies in kiwifruit orchards

Abstract The efficiency of a pollen trap in trapping kiwifruit ( Actinidia deliciosa ) pollen pellets was investigated. The trap had an average daily efficiency of 16.5 and 16.7% on 2 consecutive days. Hourly efficiencies varied between 0 and 25% with the highest efficiency in the middle of the day which coincided with periods of maximum honey bee ( Apis melifera ) foraging activity. The amount of staminate pollen in foragers' corbiculae was closely related to the proportion of staminate pollen on their body indicating that pellets can be used as a measure of pollination efficiency.