scholarly journals Techniques to Increase Queen Production in Bombus terrestris L. Colonies

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fehmi GUREL ◽  
Bahar Argun KARSLI
Keyword(s):  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Queen Production

Development and Reproductive Strategies in Bombus Terrestris Colonies

Behaviour ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 107 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 186-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Duchateau ◽  
H.H.W. Velthuis
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Slow Phase ◽  
Switch Point ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Queen Production

The development and the reproductive output of 26 Bombus terrestris colonies were investigated. Four important points in colony development are distinguished. These are: a) the start of egg laying by the queen, leading to the beginning of the eusocial phase, the emergence of the first workers; b) the moment which we term the switch point, at which the queen switches from laying diploid eggs (producing workers or queens) to the laying of haploid eggs (producing males); c) the onset of queen production reared from diploid eggs; d) the loss of dominance by the queen, expressed by the beginning of aggression on the part of queen and workers, worker oviposition, oophagy and the functional elimination of the queen. This we call the competition point. The onset of queen production is highly correlated with the competition point but not correlated with the switch point. The pattern in time of the egg laying by a queen differed from the rate of increase of worker numbers published by previous authors. After an initial and slow phase, in which two broods of egg cells are produced, the rate of egg laying of a queen becomes constant, whether or not the eggs are fertilized. The transformation from this rate of egg laying to the earlier descriptions of increase in number is only possible if one neglects differences between colonies in time spent in the production of the two broods as well as the highly variable time needed for development into adults. The time at which the competition point occurs is much more predictable (at day 30.8 ± 4.9 after the emergence of the first worker) than the switch point. The latter ranges from day 6 to day 32. In our colonies two groups can be discerned, one of early switching colonies (at day 9.8 ± 2.4), the other of late switching colonies (at day 23.4 ± 4.6). The occurrence of the switch cannot be predicted from preceding behavioural or demographic data. As a consequence of the early switch such colonies produce mainly males. Partly due to the unfavourable larva/worker ratio only a few queens were reared from the last laid diploid eggs. In contradiction the late switching colonies produce on average sexuals at a 1.3:1 sex ratio (1:1.7 investment ratio). Remarkable however, biomass of sexuals is equal in both types of colonies. Males are about half the weight of queens. Certain colonies invest in males only ("3 males : 0 queens"). Since the two types of colonies occurred in about equal numbers, our local population is characterized by a 4:1 1(♂:♀) sex ratio. This male biased sex ratio, also observed for other bumblebees species (B. terricola and B. melanopygus, OWEN et al., 1980; OWEN & PLOWRIGHT, 1982), contrasts with existing theoretical models based on kin selection (TRIVERS & HARE, 1976) or local mate competition (ALEXANDER & SHERMAN, 1977) arguments. A model is proposed in which the males of the early switching colonies monopolize the matings due to their early appearance in the field. In fact, the early switching colonies, by investing mainly in males, parasitize on the reproductive strategy of the late switching colonies, which are characterized by a 1:1 sex ratio. At population level the two reproductive strategies are in equilibrium at a 1:1 frequency.

scholarly journals Availability of Sugar Solutions for Colony Development and Progeny-Queen Production of the European Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Hyung-Joo Yoon ◽  
Kyeong-Yong Lee ◽  
Mi-Ae Kim ◽  
Sang-Mi Han ◽  
Mi-Young Ahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Queen Production

scholarly journals Higher developmental temperature increases queen production and decreases worker body size in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris

2021 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Marie Guiraud ◽  
Bérénice Cariou ◽  
Maxime Henrion ◽  
Emily Baird ◽  
Maxence Gérard
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Resource Collection ◽  
Queen Production ◽  
The Impact

Climate change and increasing average temperatures are now affecting most ecosystems. Social insects such as bumblebees are especially impacted because these changes create spatial, temporal and morphological mismatches that could impede their ability to find food resources and mate. However, few studies have assessed how the colony and life cycle are affected when temperatures rise above optimal rearing temperature. It has become imperative to understand how heat stress affects the life history traits of insect pollinators as well as how changes in life history interact with other traits like morphology. For example, a decrease in the number of foraging workers could be balanced by producing larger workers, able to forage at longer distances and gather more resources. Here, we investigated the impact of temperature on colony production and body size in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Colonies were exposed to two temperatures: 25 °C, which is around the optimal temperature for larval development and 33 °C, which is slightly above the set-point that is considered stressful for bumblebees. Although the production of males and workers wasn’t significantly affected by these different temperatures, queen production and reproductive investment were much higher for colonies placed in 33 °C than in 25 °C. We also found that, in agreement with the temperature-size rule, workers were significantly smaller in the higher temperature. The decrease in worker body size could affect resource collection and pollination if their foraging distance and the quantity of food they are taking back to the colony decreases. While in our controlled conditions the bumblebees were fed ad libitum, the decrease of resource collection in field conditions could prevent colonies from producing as many queens as in our study. Together with the decrease of worker body size, our results suggest that elevated temperatures could ultimately have a negative impact on bumblebee colony fitness. Indeed, smaller workers are known to have weaker flight performance which could affect foraging performance and consequently colony development.

Thermoregulation dynamics in commercially reared colonies of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-118
Author(s):  
Enya Wynants ◽  
Nancy Lenaerts ◽  
Felix Wäckers ◽  
Annette Van Oystaeyen
Keyword(s):  
Bombus Terrestris
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