HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF BEE FORAGING 
PATTERNS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE 
By Howard S. Ginsberg* 
Department of Entomology 
Cornell University 
Ithaca, New York 14853 
Introduction 
The bee fauna of the northeastern United States has changed 
markedly in the past few centuries. The impetus for this change 
came largely from human activities, notably from introductions of 
foreign species and modifications of the regional flora. Several bee 
species, most notably the honey bee ( Apis mellifera), were intro- 
duced into this region (Crane 1975; Linsley 1958). Honey bees can 
powerfully influence the foraging patterns of native bees (Pearson 
1933; Eickwort and Ginsberg 1980). Replacement of forests over 
large areas by cities and farms (Ferguson and Mayer 1970; Vaughan 
1929) and numerous introductions of alien plant species (Wiegand 
and Eames 1925) have resulted in major changes in northeastern 
plant communities. 
How broad were these changes and how have they influenced the 
foraging ecology of northeastern bees? What was this area like 
before the European settlers arrived? The answers to these questions 
are vital to an understanding of contemporary bee foraging patterns 
and of community level interactions between flowers and their 
pollinators. The purpose of this paper is to describe some general 
trends in the foraging patterns of Apoidea in central New York 
State, and to interpret them in terms of the historical development 
of the flora and bee fauna of the region. 
Materials and Methods 
The study site was a 5.8 hectare abandoned field (last cultivated 
about 1956) located near Ithaca, New York. It was bordered by 
♦Present Address: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New 
York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 
Manuscript received by the editor August 8, 1981 
337 
