*EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND COLONY STRENGTH ON HONEY BEES FORAGING Apis mellifera L. (Apidae–Hymenoptera)

Results of studying honey bees foraging (number of foraging bees) showed that temperature has an effect on number of foraging bees. and that the highest foraging of honey bees was at 45°C with a mean of 190.96 bees/hive.While the lowest foraging was at 15°C with a mean of 4.67 bees/hive. The effect of temperature on number of bees collecting nectar and water showed that the highest number was at 36°C with a mean of 21.70 bees/hive and the lowest number was at 15°C with a mean of 0.20 bees/hive As for the strength of colony on the mean number of foraging bees the study showed that the strong colonies gave the highest number with a mean of 95.39 bees/hive while the weak colonies gave the lowest number with a mean of 40.69 bees/hive . Concerning the strength of colony effect on number of bees collecting water and nectar, the strong colonies gave the highest number with a mean of 82.06 bees/hive while the weakest colonies gave the lowest number with a mean of 35.41 bees/hive . The strong colonies also gave the highest number of bees collecting nectar with a mean of 13.68 bees/hive while the weak colonies gave the lowest number with a mean of 6.03 bees/hive .