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Resilience of bumblebee foraging behavior despite colony size reduction
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Functional Morphology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2485-0662
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology. Sorbonne Université, France.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology. Sorbonne Université, France.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Functional Morphology.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3625-3897
2023 (English)In: Frontiers in insect science, ISSN 2673-8600, Vol. 2, article id 1073380Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Foraging behavior is driven by diverse factors, notably life history traits. Foraging strategies are particularly complex among eusocial species such as bumblebees, because they depend primarily on the needs of the colony, rather than on individual's needs. Colony size, i.e. the number of workers in a colony vary a lot among eusocial insects. While a large colony can be adaptive, several drivers can strongly decrease colony size, like pesticides or high temperatures. In this study, we used the bumblebee Bombus terrestris to assess if workers adapted their foraging behavior to such rapid decreases in colony size. We conducted the foraging experiments with two plant species commonly used by bumblebees: Borago officinalis and Echium plantagineum. Several foraging parameters were measured: foraging time, number of foraging trips, number of workers foraging, handling time and visiting rate. Despite a drastic reduction in colony size, nearly all the foraging behavior parameters were unaffected by the colony size reduction. Colonies that were subject to a large decrease in workers instead displayed high resilience and behavioral plasticity by quickly increasing the proportion of foragers. Ultimately, further research should assess if this consistency in foraging behavior also allows bumblebee colonies to maintain both the efficiency of the resources collection and pollination.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. Vol. 2, article id 1073380
Keywords [en]
Bombus terrestris, eusociality, pollination, social group size, visiting rate
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-223768DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2022.1073380ISI: 001086887700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85168129843OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-223768DiVA, id: diva2:1812298
Available from: 2023-11-15 Created: 2023-11-15 Last updated: 2023-11-15Bibliographically approved

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Gérard, MaxenceBaird, Emily

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