Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 6, No. 2 370 NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST 2006 13(1):39–42 Notes of the Southeastern Naturalist, Issue 6/2, 2007 Use of Small-volume Nest Boxes by Apis mellifera L. (European Honey Bees) in Alabama Suzanne Prange 1,2,* and David H. Nelson 1 Abstract - Previous studies have documented that cavities < 10 liters are consistently rejected as nest sites by Apis mellifera (European honey bees). During a study of Glaucomys volans (southern flying squirrel) ecology in Alabama, however, honey bees occupied a total of 10 nest boxes with volumes of 5–6.7 liters. These observations are significant because they represent the smallest documented cavity volume accepted by honey bees, and also because they lend support to the theory that minimum acceptable cavity volume varies geographically. Small volume cavities may be accepted in the southeastern United States due to milder climates, a paucity of natural cavities, genetic differences in honey bees among regions, or some combina- tion of these factors. Consequently, there may be increased potential for competition between honey bees and other cavity-nesting species in the Southeast. Apis mellifera L. (European honey bees) establish new colonies by swarming. During the swarming process, a new queen is produced and the original queen leaves the parent hive with approximately half of the colony. The success of the new colony is highly dependent upon the swarm’s ability to locate an appropriate nest site. Nest sites typically consist of a cavity within a tree or man-made structure. The criteria by which honey bees select nest sites have been extensively investigated (Rinderer et al. 1982; Schmidt and Hurley 1995; Seeley and Morse 1976, 1978; Villa 2004). A critical criterion is that of cavity volume. A minimum cavity volume is necessary to accommodate an adequate amount of honey to sustain the colony throughout winter, whereas energy requirements of nest defense, labor, and homeostasis may dictate upper limits of cavity volume (Seeley 1977). Several authors have suggested that the minimum acceptable cavity volume varies geographically, with smaller volumes accepted in milder climates (Morse et al. 1993, Seeley and Morse 1978, Villa 2004). Regardless of geographic location, however, cavities with volumes < 10 liters have been consistently rejected in choice studies (Jaycox and Parise 1980, 1981; Rinderer et al. 1982), and we are unaware of reports of natural nests with volumes below this threshold. In this paper, however, we document honey bee acceptance of nest boxes with volumes < 10 liters in southern Alabama. Possible reasons for this occurrence and potential implications are discussed. We constructed 100 nest boxes, originally intended for occupancy by Glaucomys volans L. (southern flying squirrels), similar to those described by Sonenshine et al. (1973). Nest boxes had internal dimensions of 15 x 15 x 30 cm (total volume = 6.7 liters) and were constructed of 2.5-cm thick bald cypress wood. We placed a circular entrance (3.1-cm diameter) on the side of the box, approximately 5 cm from the top and rear (Fig. 1). Our study area was a 6.0-ha oak-pine woodland in Mobile County, AL (Cottage Hill Park). Canopy species consisted primarily of Pinus palustris Mill. (longleaf pine), Quercus hemisphaerica Bartr. (laurel oak), Q. virginiana Mill. (live oak), P. taeda L. (loblolly pine), and Q. falcata Michx. (southern red oak). We used a grid system with 25-m intervals and hung the boxes 3–4 m above the ground on a suitably large tree (≥ 10 cm dbh) nearest each grid point. We checked the boxes sporadically (approximately monthly) from January 1991–May 1991 and regularly 370