The objectives of the contract resulting from this procurement procedure are to develop protocols, conduct experiments and collect data on pollen and sugar/carbohydrates consumption in various categories of bees (honey bee - lot 1, bumble bee, solitary adults – lot 2).
— to estimate the daily sugar/carbohydrates consumption of honey bee foragers in different environmental setup and to understand how the different environmental factors influence this consumption rate through measuring the flying time (hour/day);
— to measure the pollen consumption of honey bee nurses during their entire nursing life (mg/bee/day);
— to measure the fresh sugar/carbohydrates and pollen consumption of honey bee larvae during their entire development phase (mg/larvae/developmental period).
More precise description of the objectives of lot 1 is available in the tender specifications.
— to measure the pollen consumption of bumble bee workers and solitary bee adult (i.e. females) during their entire life (mg/bee/day) in field realistic conditions;
— to measure the cumulative sugar/carbohydrates and pollen consumption of bee larvae during their entire development (mg/larvae/full larval developmental period).
More precise description of the objectives of lot 2 is available in the tender specifications.