Basic principles of foraging delineated by Fewell and Winston:

Nectar foraging is independent of variation in colony honey stores. 

There was no foraging response at either the individual or population level to changes in colony honey storage levels. 

The lack of a foraging response to changes in honey stores suggests that in honey bees, short-term regulation of energy intake is not directly regulated around colony energy reserves.

Nectar collection by honey bees seems to be controlled primarily by external variables, most importantly by nectar quality and availability.

Pollen foraging behavior is closely and homeostatically regulated around colony conditions, and individual pollen foraging decisions reflect that. 

In contrast, the decision rules for nectar foraging are much less linked to colony conditions than they are to external factors.

from:
"Regulation of nectar collection in relation to honey storage levels by honey bees, Apis mellifera"
Jennifer H. Fewell and Mark L. Winston. Behavioral Ecology Vol. 7 No. 3: 286-291

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