title: Optimal foraging: A case for random movement.
abstract: The bumblebee, Bombus flavifrons, forages randomly with respect to direction on Polemonium foliosissimum. This foraging pattern is as predicted for a system where there is a low probability of revisiting any given flower upon returning to a patch. This low revisitation probability is a function of the floral resource arrangement. It is further shown that B. flavifrons is using the resource distribution to direct its movements. A large percentage of all movements are to nearest neighbors with maximal foraging efficiency gained through minimization of flight distances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology Washington University, 63130, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zimmerman