A little bee told me…honey bee foraging preference in mixed urban and agro-ecosystems

Honeybees are important pollinators of crops in the US, contributing over $3 billion in the US agricultural system. In past few years, there has been an increase in so-called “pollinator gardens” that are purported to appeal to pollinators such as honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects and animals and in recommendations for farmers in both large- and small-scale agriculture to increase pollinator visitation. Honeybees are unique in that their waggle dance language can be decoded and understood by humans to determine their foraging sources; using the waggle dance language, I hope to have the honeybees themselves reveal which forage they find valuable at key timepoints in the central Illinois landscape when presented with an equal availability of urban, high-diversity and low-diversity farms. I predict that bees will show a preference for certain foraging areas based on seasonality and availability of forage. Results from this study could prove useful in making recommendations for citizens and farmers interested in supporting pollinators and reveal information as-of-yet not studied on honeybee forage preference.