1981] 
Ginsberg — Bee Foraging Patterns 
343 
(Dudley 1886). These cleared areas were probably far less extensive 
than present-day open habitats. Also, the deer-stalking grounds 
differed from modern old fields because they were burned each year, 
and because they lacked many of the introduced flower species that 
are now common. Some of these species were introduced by 1807, 
when the explorer Frederick Pursh passed through Ithaca (Dudley 
1886; Pursh 1923). 
The first settlers arrived in Ithaca about 1789 (Dudley 1886). By 
the mid 1800’s extensive areas of land had been cleared for farming 
and settlements. Total acreage used for farming reached a peak in 
New York State (approximately 23,780,754 acres) about 1880. Since 
then, gradual abandonment of farmland has given rise to many 
abandoned fields. By 1925, only 19,269,926 acres of farmland 
remained (Vaughan 1929). By the late 1960’s the area of crop and 
pasture land in New York State totalled only about 8,771,800 acres 
(Ferguson and Mayer 1970). Much of this farm land was lost to 
villages and cities, but a considerable amount was left as abandoned 
fields. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s several weedy species were 
introduced, and many others increased in abundance in central New 
York. Among the species that became common at this time were 
Hieracium pratense and Potentilla recta (Wiegand and Eames 
1925), both important species at my sample site (Tables I and III). 
Taken together, these facts suggest that the current floral composi- 
tion of old-field communities in central New York is on the order of 
100 years old. 
As a result of these changes in the local flora, at least three new 
classes of abundant flower forage have become available to bees. In 
spring, the introduced rosaceous trees and roadside weeds provide 
considerable forage. Second, the increased acreage of abandoned 
fields, along with introductions of several plant species, results in an 
historically novel flower bloom in early summer. Finally, the large 
acreage of open fields results in an unprecedented profuse bloom of 
goldenrod in late summer. 
The honey bee was introduced into North America by the early 
colonists (Crane 1975). The Italian strain {Apis mellifera ligustica), 
which now predominates in New York State, was not introduced 
until 1859 (Ruttner 1975). Some more recent introductions into the 
Ithaca area include the megachilids Megachile rotundata (Mitchell 
1962) and Anthidium manicatum (Pechuman 1967), and the andre- 
