Intraspecific nest and brood recognition by queens of the bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 2893-2897 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Gamboa ◽  
Robin L. Foster ◽  
Kenneth W. Richards

Queens of pre-emergence colonies of the bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, discriminated between their own nest or brood and that of an unrelated conspecific queen in the field. In particular, behavioural observations of queens from 11 matched pairs of replaced nests (controls) and switched nests (treatments) revealed that queens spent significantly more time in thermoregulatory behaviour (incubating and covering brood), and initiated such behaviours significantly sooner, with their own brood than with unrelated (foreign) brood. Queens also spent significantly more time inspecting foreign brood than their own brood. Finally, queens returning to foreign nests were significantly more likely to depart during the observation period than queens returning to their own nest. Although queens recognized unrelated nests or brood, they were not observed to destroy unrelated brood. Rather, in most cases they adopted foreign nests containing unrelated worker-destined brood, and remained with these nests for the life of the colonies.

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1843-1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna L Birmingham ◽  
Shelley E Hoover ◽  
Mark L Winston ◽  
Ron C Ydenberg

Commercial greenhouses require high densities of managed bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis Greene, 1858 and Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) colonies to pollinate crops such as tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller). We examined drifting, a behavioural consequence of introducing closely aggregated colonies into greenhouse habitats, to determine possible explanations for observed drifting frequencies. Bee drift is normally associated with increased individual mortality and disease transfer between colonies. In this study, individual bees frequently drifted into and remained within foreign colonies. More drifting bees were found in colonies with higher worker and brood populations and greater pollen stores. Increased intracolony aggressive interactions were not associated with a higher number of drifting bees. Drifting bees had a significantly greater number of mature eggs in their ovaries than did resident worker bees residing in colonies hosting drifters, suggesting that drifting could potentially increase the fitness of individual worker bees and may not be solely a function of disorientation and (or) nectar robbing. Taken together, our results suggest that drifting of workers into foreign colonies within greenhouses may demonstrate a predisposition to social parasitism. This selfish worker reproduction challenges our previous understanding of social insect societies as being cooperative societies.


2003 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Whittington ◽  
Mark L. Winston

AbstractManaged bumble bees are important pollinators of greenhouse crops, but few studies have examined factors that affect the health and productivity of commercially produced colonies. We investigated whether supplemental feeding with diverse pollens affected worker longevity and colony size of Bombus occidentalis Greene (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies in tomato (Solanaceae) greenhouses. We found no differences in colony worker populations, brood production, or queen and drone production between supplemented and nonsupplemented treatments, suggesting that B. occidentalis colonies obtain adequate nutrition from the tomato pollen available in greenhouses. Adult populations did not increase in any treatment, but either remained stable or declined after colonies were placed in greenhouses. Because brood-rearing increased in all treatments but adult populations did not, adult mortality due to a non-nutritional factor such as disease or disorientation appears to be an important problem limiting the size of bumble bee colonies, and thus the effectiveness of bumble bees for greenhouse tomato pollination.


2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.E. Owen ◽  
M.C. Otterstatter ◽  
R.V. Cartar ◽  
A. Farmer ◽  
S.R. Colla ◽  
...  

Bombus moderatus Cresson, 1863 occurs in the northern and western regions of North America and reaches its southern limit in Alberta. In 1915, the southernmost record was Banff; by 1987, it had appeared in Kananaskis Country, 40 km southeast of Banff, and by 2010, it had spread 80 km farther east to become one of the more common bumble bee species in Calgary, where it had never been previously recorded. This represents a rate of spread over the last 20 years of about 4 km/year. The simplest hypothesis that can account for this change is that it is just a continuation of the natural expansion of its range since the end of the last ice age. An alternative hypothesis is that it is filling the niche vacated as a result of the decline in another species, Bombus occidentalis Greene, 1858.


2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Grann

Summary: Hare's Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991 ) was originally constructed for use among males in correctional and forensic settings. In this study, the PCL-R protocols of 36 matched pairs of female and male violent offenders were examined with respect to gender differences. The results indicated a few significant differences. By means of discriminant analysis, male Ss were distinguished from their female counterparts through their relatively higher scores on “callous/lack of empathy” (item 8) and “juvenile delinquency” (item 18), whereas the female Ss scored relatively higher on “promiscuous sexual behavior” (item 11). Some sources of bias and possible implications are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S39-S42 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kocher ◽  
G. Asmelash ◽  
V. Makki ◽  
S. Müller ◽  
S. Krekeler ◽  
...  

SummaryThe retrospective observational study surveys the relationship between development of inhibitors in the treatment of haemophilia patients and risk factors such as changing FVIII products. A total of 119 patients were included in this study, 198 changes of FVIII products were evaluated. Results: During the observation period of 12 months none of the patients developed an inhibitor, which was temporally associated with a change of FVIII products. A frequent change of FVIII products didn’t lead to an increase in inhibitor risk. The change between plasmatic and recombinant preparations could not be confirmed as a risk factor. Furthermore, no correlation between treatment regimens, severity, patient age and comorbidities of the patients could be found.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (01) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
L. C. Hofbauer ◽  
D. Felsenberg ◽  
M. Amling ◽  
A. Kurth ◽  
P. Hadji

SummaryIt is important to understand compliance and persistence with medication use in the clinical practice of osteoporosis treatment. The purpose of this work is to describe the “intravenous ibandronate versus oral alendronate” (VIVA) study, a non-interventional trial to assess the compliance and persistence of osteopenic postmenopausal women with treatment via weekly oral alendronate or intravenous ibandronate (Bonviva®) every three months.4477 patients receiving ibandronate 3 mg i. v. quarterly and 1491 patients receiving alendronate 70 mg orally weekly were included in the study. Matched pairs of 901 subjects in each group were also generated. Matching was performed on the basis of age, body mass index, fracture history at study inclusion, prior treatment with bisphosphonates and the number of concomitant disorders. Secondary outcome measures of osteoporosis related fractures, mobility restriction and pain, analgesia, quality of life questionnaires as well as attitudes to medications were assessed. The primary outcome parameters of compliance and persistence will be tracked in these subjects.At baseline, the entire collectives differed significantly on body weight (less in ibandronate group), duration since osteo - porosis diagnosis (longer in ibandronate), and incidence of prior osteoporotic fracture (higher in ibandronate group). The matched-pairs differed only on mobility restriction and quality of life (both worse in ibandronate group).The results from the VIVA study trial will provide scientific rationale for clinical recommendations in the pharmacological treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.


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