1981] 
Ginsberg — Bee Foraging Patterns 
345 
Conclusions 
In an abandoned field in central New York State, native bees 
foraged predominantly on introduced flower species in early sum- 
mer, while the introduced honey bee predominated on native 
goldenrods in late summer. This situation results from recent 
changes in the flora and fauna of the region. 
The activities of European settlers have caused large-scale changes 
in the flora of the northeastern United States. These changes result 
primarily from introductions of alien species, and from clearing of 
land for farming with subsequent abandonment. At present, there 
are at least three instances of profuse flowering over the season that 
are historically novel to this area. These are the abundant bloom of 
introduced trees and roadside weeds in spring, the flowering peak of 
introduced weeds in early summer, and the profuse flowering of 
native goldenrods in late summer. In all three of these cases, the 
predominant foragers are social bees; honey bees in spring and late 
summer, and social halictines in early summer. The ability of these 
bees to exploit historically novel pulses of flowering results from 
features related to their social behavior; large colony size and 
recruitment ability in Apis mellifera, and the multivoltine seasonal 
cycle in the social halictines. 
Acknowledgments 
I thank G. C. Eickwort, F. C. Evans, R. A. Morse, and R. 
Nowogrodzki for constructive comments on early drafts of the 
manuscript. F. J. Rohlf provided useful advice. I also thank W. 
Denison and family for providing their land as a study site. This 
study was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for 
the Doctor of Philosophy at Cornell University. Funding was 
provided, in part, by NSF grant no. BMS-72-02386 to G. C. 
Eickwort. 
Literature Cited 
Crane, E. 
1975. The world’s beekeeping — past and present. In Dadant and sons (eds.) 
The Hive and the Honeybee. Hamilton, 111.: Dadant and sons, pp. 19-38. 
Day, G. M. 
1953. The Indian as an ecological factor in the northeastern forest. Ecology 
34:329-346. 
