April 1963 ARS 33-77 



United States Department of Agriculture 

 Agricultural Research Service 



LARGE-CAGE DESIGN FOR INSECT AND PLANT RESEARCH 

 by C . L. Farrar, Entomology Research Division- 



SARAN SCREEN CAGE 



2/ 

 A 1-acre Saran-^cage was designed for colony-behavior and pollination studies by 



the Bee Culture Laboratory at Madison, Wis. , in 1959. The design of this cage will be 

 of interest to research workers concerned with population dynamics of insect species, 

 host-parasite relationships, and similar studies. Plant breeders may also find the 

 design of interest in initial breeding and seed- stock expansion programs imder con- 

 trolled pollination. Figure 1 shows a colony of bees within the cage for food- consump- 

 tion studies, figure 2 the guy- wire installation at the corner of the cage, and figure 3 a 

 red clover crop within the cage just prior to blossoming. 



Research Requirements 



The cage at Madison was designed for studies pertaining to (1) the quantity of 

 pollen and honey consumed by a normal colony over a period of 1 year in relation to 

 seasonal changes in population and brood production; (2) the quantity and quality of 

 pollen produced by 1 acre of different species or varieties of legumes and other 

 agricultural crops; (3) the distribution and foraging behavior of honey bees (Apis 

 mellifera L.) at different distances from the colony within a 1-acre enclosure when 

 the cage is erected with dimensions approximately 60 by 720, 40 by 1, 100, and 20 by 

 2, 200 feet;-(4) the determination of effective pollination of different plant species by a 

 full-strength colony; and (5) the determination of the number of bees required to obtain 

 maximum pollination and seed set of the different plant species. Such studies are of 

 major interest to cooperating plant breeders, who have the problem of expanding 

 foundation seed stock under complete pollination control. 



1/In cooperation with the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 2/ Mention of trade names in this report does not necessarily imply endorsement 

 of these products by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



