Science科學新發(fā)現(xiàn)：雄性和雌性蜜蜂具有完全不同的飲食習慣！蜜蜂為農(nóng)作物授粉的重要媒介，與人類生活密切相關，蜜蜂為取得食物不停的工作，白天采蜜、晚上釀蜜，從春季到秋末，在植物開花季節(jié)，蜜蜂天天忙碌不息。雌蜂和雄蜂生活在同一巢中，雄蜂和雌蜂外形看起來比較相近，但在形態(tài)、生理和勞動分工方面均有區(qū)別。

        2018年12月11日，Science雜志報道了一項研究進展，即雄蜂和雌蜂之間具有完全不同的飲食習慣。盡管雄性蜜蜂和雌性蜜蜂都需要采集花蜜維持生存需要，它們采集的這些營養(yǎng)物質來自不同的花，并且非常不同。從這點看，雄性蜜蜂和雌性蜜蜂都可以劃歸為不同的種了，呵呵。研究人員花費了11周的時間，在新澤西州的幾個具有豐富花卉多樣性的區(qū)域來觀察了152個種的蜜蜂的覓食習慣，然后將近19,000昆蟲帶回實驗室進行細致的物種和性別區(qū)分。結果發(fā)現(xiàn)雄性蜜蜂和雌性蜜蜂幾乎從不采集來自同一類型花的花蜜，這和以前大家認為的雄性蜜蜂和雌性蜜蜂采集花蜜是隨機的結論十分不同。

        這種偏好性可能源于雄性和雌性明顯不同的生理學和生殖需求，雄性采集花蜜的目的是為其提供即時能量，它們通常不會落在沒有花蜜的花朵上。雌性蜜蜂、工蜂也需要花蜜，它們也攜帶花粉到它們的居住地（蜂巢），這些任務需要雌性蜜蜂造訪更多類型的花朵。研究人員認為這些取食習慣的不同對于養(yǎng)蜂人采取不同的策略會產(chǎn)生一些影響。在密度大的蜂群附近種植誘人的花朵可以幫助蜜蜂獲得足夠的食物，但如果這些花對雄性和雌性來說都不好吃，那么蜂群就可能遭受滅頂之災了。

Science報道原文如下（http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/12/male-and-female-bees-have-radically-different-taste-flowers）：

Male and female bees may look similar, but they have dramatically different dining habits, according to a new study. Despite both needing nectar to survive, they get this nutrient from different flowers—so different, in fact, that males and females might as well belong to separate species.

To make the find, researchers spent 11 weeks observing the foraging habits of 152 species of bees in several flower-rich New Jersey fields. Then they brought the insects—nearly 19,000 in all—back to the lab and meticulously identified their species and sex.

Males and females rarely drank nectar from the same type of flower, the team will report in Animal Behaviour. Using a statistical test the researchers found that male and female bee diets overlap significantly less than would be expected at random.

The preferences probably stem from the distinct physiological and reproductive demands of the two sexes. Males take nectar only for immediate energy, and they typically avoid flowers that produce no nectar. Females—the worker bees—consume nectar, too, but also carry pollen from the fields to their hive. These tasks require females to visit a greater diversity of flowers.

These dinner distinctions could affect strategies for conserving bees, the researchers contend. Planting alluring flowers near stressed colonies can help bees get enough food. But if those blossoms aren’t tasty to males as well as females, hives could still suffer.