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300 results for “bumble bees”
Data from: Bumble bees damage plant leaves and accelerate flower production when pollen is scarce
Maintaining phenological synchrony with flowers is a key ecological challenge for pollinators that may be exacerbated by ongoing environmental change. Here, we show that bumble bee workers facing pollen scarcity damage leaves of flowerless plants and thereby accelerate flower production. Laboratory studies revealed that leaf-damaging behavior is strongly influenced by pollen availability and that bee-damaged plants flower significantly earlier than undamaged or mechanically damaged controls. Subsequent outdoor experiments showed that the intensity of damage inflicted varies with local flower availability; furthermore, workers from wild colonies of two additional bumble bee species were also observed to damage plant leaves. These findings elucidate a feature of bumble bee worker behavior that can influence the local availability of floral resources.
Data from: Transcriptome analysis reveals nutrition‐ and age‐related patterns of gene expression in the fat body of pre‐overwintering bumble bee queens
<p>Many diapausing insects undergo a nutrient storage period prior to their entry into diapause. Bumble bee queens diapause as adults in the winter preceding their spring nest initiation period. Before diapause, they sequester glycogen and lipids, which they metabolize during the overwintering period. We used RNA sequencing to examine how age and nectar diet (specifically, the concentration of sucrose in nectar) impact gene expression in the pre-overwintering bumble bee queen fat body, the "liver-like" organ in insects with broad functions related to nutrient storage and metabolism. We found that diet on its own, and in combination with age, impacts the expression of genes involved in detoxification. Age was also a strong driver of gene expression, especially at earlier ages (up to 3 days). In addition to these molecular correlates of diet and age, we also found a putative molecular signature of diapause entry or preparation in adult queens in the oldest age group (12 days) fed the most sucrose-rich diet, based on comparisons between our data set and another transcriptome data set from bumble bee queens. This transcriptomic pattern suggests that preparation for (or entry into) diapause might be in part mediated by nutritional state in bumble bee queens. Collectively, these findings show that there are molecular processes in the fat body that are responsive to sucrose levels in the diet and/or associated with age-related maturational changes. A better understanding of these processes may shed light on important aspects of bumble bee biology, such as queen responses to nutritional and other forms of stress, and the factors that regulate their entrance into diapause.</p>
Evolutionary and ecological processes influence a plant-bumble bee network
<p>Species interactions, such as those between plants and pollinators, are known to be shaped by both evolutionary history and ecological factors. However, the relative importance of neutral- and niche-based ecological processes is still under debate, and little is known about which ecological factors are most important for explaining phylogenetic patterns in interaction networks. Using a plant-bumble bee network comprising 2428 interactions between 29 plant species and 12 bumble bee species in the Himalaya-Hengduan mountains, we tested for phylogenetic signal and whether phylogenetic pattern was explained by 14 plant and four bumble bee ecological traits. We also tested whether trait matching between bumble bee tongue length and flower tube depth explained interaction patterns. All of the measured traits contributed to explaining the phylogenetic attraction pattern, among them, species abundances, nectar volume, and nectar sugar concentration were the most important predictors. Meanwhile, trait mismatch between bumble bee tongue length and flower tube depth failed to predict the interactions, with short-tongued bees generalized across tube depths. Our findings suggest neutral-based process seems to matter more than niche-based processes in this system and help to predict how interactions will respond when key traits are altered by pollinator declines and global change effects.</p>
Data from: Limitation of complementary resources affects colony growth, foraging behavior and reproduction in bumble bees
<p>Resource availability has been disturbed for many organisms in agricultural landscapes including pollinator species. Abundance and diversity in flower availability benefit bee populations, however, little is known about which of protein or carbohydrate resources may limit their growth and reproductive performance. Here, we test the hypothesis of complementary resource limitation using a supplemental feeding approach. We applied this assumption with bumble bees (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>), assuming that colony growth and reproductive performance should depend on the continuous supply of carbohydrates and proteins, through the foraging for nectar and pollen respectively. We placed wild-caught bumble bee colonies along a landscape gradient of semi-natural habitats, and monitored the colonies' weight, foraging activity and reproductive performance during the whole colony cycle. We performed supplemental feeding as an indicator of landscape resource limitation, using a factorial design consisting of the addition of sugar-water (carbohydrate, supplemented or not) crossed by pollen (protein, supplemented or not). Bumble bee colony dynamics showed a clear seasonal pattern with a period of growth followed by a period of stagnation. Higher abundance of semi-natural habitats resulted in reducing the proportion of pollen foragers relative to all foragers in both periods, and in improving the reproductive performance of bumble bees. Interestingly, the supplemental feeding of sugar-water positively affected the colony weight during the stagnation period, while the supplemental feeding of pollen mitigated the landscape effect on pollen collection investment. Single and combined supplementation of sugar-water and pollen increased the positive effect of semi-natural habitats on reproductive performance. This study reveals a potential co-limitation in pollen and nectar resources affecting foraging behavior and reproductive performance in bumble bees, and indicates that even in mixed agricultural landscapes with higher proportions of semi-natural habitats, bumble bee populations face resource limitations. We conclude that the seasonal management of floral resources must be considered in conservation to support bumble bee populations and pollination services in farmlands.</p>
Bumble bees in landscapes with abundant floral resources have lower pathogen loads
AbstractThe pollination services provided by bees are essential for supporting natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, bee population declines have been documented across the world. Many of the factors known to undermine bee health (e.g., poor nutrition) can decrease immunocompetence and, thereby, increase bees' susceptibility to diseases. Given the myriad of stressors that can exacerbate disease in wild bee populations, assessments of the relative impact of landscape habitat conditions on bee pathogen prevalence are needed to effectively conserve pollinator populations. Herein, we assess how landscape-level conditions, including various metrics of floral/nesting resources, insecticides, weather, and honey bee (Apis mellifera) abundance, drive variation in wild bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) pathogen loads. Specifically, we screened 890 bumble bee workers from varied habitats in Pennsylvania, USA for three pathogens (deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, and Vairimorpha (= Nosema) bombi), Defensin expression, and body size. Bumble bees collected within low-quality landscapes exhibited the highest pathogen loads, with spring floral resources and nesting habitat availability serving as the main drivers. We also found higher loads of pathogens where honey bee apiaries are more abundant, a positive relationship between Vairimorpha loads and rainfall, and differences in pathogens by geographic region. Collectively, our results highlight the need to support high-quality landscapes (i.e., those with abundant floral/nesting resources) to maintain healthy wild bee populations.
Data from: Maize-dominated landscapes reduce bumble bee colony growth through pollen diversity loss
1. Bumble bees are important pollinators for a wide range of crops and wild plants. Performance of their colonies depends on pollen and nectar as food resources, but flowering plants are scarce in modern agricultural landscapes. It is well-known that semi-natural habitats can enhance floral resources and bumble bee abundance, but the impact of different crop types and their heterogeneity at the landscape scale remains unclear. 2. We tested the effect of two different crop types (oilseed rape (OSR) and maize) and of configurational (field border density) and compositional heterogeneity (crop diversity) on weight gain of buff-tailed bumble bee colonies (Bombus terrestris) colonies and the pollen diversity collected by them in 20 landscapes in Central Germany. 3. We found that augmenting maize cover had a detrimental effect on pollen diversity collected by the bumble bees, probably due to intensive management resulting in low plant diversity. This low pollen diversity translated into reduced colony growth, since colonies with high pollen diversity gained more weight than colonies with low pollen diversity. 4. In contrast, OSR cover, configurational and compositional heterogeneity did neither affect colony growth nor pollen diversity. However, for OSR the timing of the flowering period was important. When OSR fields had a high flower cover at the end of the OSR blooming period, colonies showed increased growth rates. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results complement previous laboratory studies by showing that high pollen diversity leads to better colony performance under field conditions. Therefore, the maintenance of floral diversity in agricultural landscapes is crucial to ensure that bumble bees can fulfil their nutritional needs. However, the heterogeneity of crops, at least under the currently very low levels of crop rotation, does not contribute to this aim. In contrast, crop identity and timing of mass-flowering crops turned out to be important factors, as maize reduced pollen resources, while late blooming OSR oilseed rape was beneficial for bumble bee colonies. Hence, maize cover per landscape should be reduced and strategies to enhance landscape wide flower diversity, especially towards and after the end of oilseed rape bloom should be promoted to support bumble bee colonies that provide important pollination services.
Data from: A test of the invasive pathogen hypothesis of bumble bee decline in North America
Emergent fungal diseases are critical factors in global biodiversity declines. The fungal pathogen Nosema bombi was recently found to be widespread in declining species of North American bumble bees (Bombus), with circumstantial evidence suggesting an exotic introduction from Europe. This interpretation has been hampered by a lack of knowledge of global genetic variation, geographic origin, and changing prevalence patterns of N. bombi in declining North American populations. Thus, the temporal and spatial emergence of N. bombi and its potential role in bumble bee decline remain speculative. We analyze Nosema prevalence and genetic variation in the United States and Europe from 1980, before an alleged introduction in the early 1990s, to 2011, extracting Nosema DNA from Bombus natural history collection specimens from across this time period. Nosema bombi prevalence increased significantly from low detectable frequency in the 1980s to significantly higher frequency in the mid- to late-1990s, corresponding to a period of reported massive infectious outbreak of N. bombi in commercial bumble bee rearing stocks in North America. Despite the increased frequency, we find no conclusive evidence of an exotic N. bombi origin based on genetic analysis of global Nosema populations; the widespread Nosema strain found currently in declining United States bumble bees was present in the United States before commercial colony trade. Notably, the US N. bombi is not detectably different from that found predominantly throughout Western Europe, with both regions characterized by low genetic diversity compared with high levels of diversity found in Asia, where commercial bee breeding activities are low or nonexistent.
Data from: Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change
Ecological partnerships, or mutualisms, are globally widespread, sustaining agriculture and biodiversity. Mutualisms evolve through the matching of functional traits between partners, such as tongue length of pollinators and flower tube depth of plants. Long-tongued pollinators specialize on flowers with deep corolla tubes, whereas shorter-tongued pollinators generalize across tube lengths. Losses of functional guilds because of shifts in global climate may disrupt mutualisms and threaten partner species. We found that in two alpine bumble bee species, decreases in tongue length have evolved over 40 years. Co-occurring flowers have not become shallower, nor are small-flowered plants more prolific. We argue that declining floral resources because of warmer summers have favored generalist foraging, leading to a mismatch between shorter-tongued bees and the longer-tubed plants they once pollinated.
An interaction between host and microbe genotypes determines colonization success of a key bumble bee gut microbiota member
<p><span>There has been a proliferation of studies demonstrating an organism's health is influenced by its microbiota. However, factors influencing beneficial microbe colonization and the evolution of these relationships remain understudied relative to host-pathogen interactions. Vertically transmitted beneficial microbes are predicted to show high levels of specificity in colonization, including genotype matching, which may transpire through coevolution. We investigate how host and bacterial genotypes influence colonization of a core coevolved microbiota member in bumble bees. The hindgut colonizing </span><i>Snodgrassella alvi</i><span> confers direct benefits, but, as an early colonizer, also facilitates the further development of a healthy microbiota. Due to predominantly vertical transmission promoting tight evolution between colonization factors of bacteria and host lineages, we predict that genotype-by-genotype interactions will determine successful colonization. Germ-free adult bees from seven bumble bee colonies (host genotypic units) were inoculated with one of six genetically distinct strains of </span><i>S. alvi</i><span>. Subsequent colonization within host-genotype and microbe-genotype combinations ranged from zero to one hundred percent, and an interaction between host and microbe genotypes determined colonization success. This novel finding of a genotype-by-genotype interaction determining colonization in an animal host-beneficial microbe system has implications for the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host and microbe,</span><i> </i><span>including associated host-fitness benefits. </span></p>
Data from: Urban land use limits regional bumble bee gene flow
Potential declines in native pollinator communities and increased reliance on pollinator-dependent crops have raised concerns about native pollinator conservation and dispersal across human-altered landscapes. Bumble bees are one of the the most effective native pollinators, and are often the first to be extirpated in human-altered habitats, yet little is known about how bumble bees move across fine spatial scales and what landscapes promote or limit their gene flow. In this study, we examine regional genetic differentiation and fine scale relatedness patterns of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, to investigate how current and historic habitat composition impact gene flow. We conducted our study across a landscape mosaic of natural, agricultural, and urban/suburban habitats, and we show that B. vosnesenskii exhibits low but significant levels of differentiation across the study system (FST = 0.019, Dest = 0.049). Most importantly, we reveal significant relationships between pairwise FST and resistance models created from contemporary land-use maps. Specifically, B. vosnesenskii gene flow is most limited by commercial, industrial, and transportation-related impervious cover. Finally, our fine-scale analysis reveals significant but declining relatedness between individuals at the 1- 9km spatial scale, most likely due to local queen dispersal. Overall, our results indicate that B. vosnesenskii exhibits considerable local dispersal and that regional gene flow is significantly limited by impervious cover associated with urbanization.
Data from: Variation in gut microbial communities and its association with pathogen infection in wild bumble bees (Bombus)
Bacterial gut symbiont communities are critical for the health of many insect species. However, little is known about how microbial communities vary among host species or how they respond to anthropogenic disturbances. Bacterial communities that differ in richness or composition may vary in their ability to provide nutrients or defenses. We used deep sequencing to investigate gut microbiota of three species in the genus Bombus (bumble bees). Bombus are among the most economically and ecologically important non-managed pollinators. Some species have experienced dramatic declines, probably due to pathogens and land-use change. We examined variation within and across bee species and between semi-natural and conventional agricultural habitats. We categorized as 'core bacteria' any operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with closest hits to sequences previously found exclusively or primarily in the guts of honey bees and bumble bees (genera Apis and Bombus). Microbial community composition differed among bee species. Richness, defined as number of bacterial OTUs, was highest for B. bimaculatus and B. impatiens. For B. bimaculatus, this was due to high richness of non-core bacteria. We found little effect of habitat on microbial communities. Richness of non-core bacteria was negatively associated with bacterial abundance in individual bees, possibly due to deeper sampling of non-core bacteria in bees with low populations of core bacteria. Infection by the gut parasite Crithidia was negatively associated with abundance of the core bacterium Gilliamella and positively associated with richness of non-core bacteria. Our results indicate that Bombus species have distinctive gut communities, and community-level variation is associated with pathogen infection.
Data from: Bumble bee nest abundance, foraging distance, and host-plant reproduction: implications for management and conservation
Recent reports of global declines in pollinator species imply an urgent need to assess the abundance of native pollinators and density-dependent benefits for linked plants. In this study, we investigated (1) pollinator nest distributions and estimated colony abundances, (2) the relationship between abundances of foraging workers and the number of nests they represent, (3) pollinator foraging ranges, and (4) the relationship between pollinator abundance and plant reproduction. We examined these questions in an alpine ecosystem in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, focusing on four alpine bumble bee species (Bombus balteatus, B. flavifrons, B. bifarius, and B. sylvicola), and two host plants that differ in their degrees of pollinator specialization (Trifolium dasyphyllum and T. parryi). Using microsatellites, we found that estimated colony abundances among Bombus species ranged from ~18 to 78 colonies/0.01 km2. The long-tongued species B. balteatus was most common, especially high above treeline, but the subalpine species B. bifarius was unexpectedly abundant for this elevation range. Nests detected among sampled foragers of each species were correlated with the number of foragers caught. Foraging ranges were smaller than expected for all Bombus species, ranging from 25 to 110 m. Fruit set for the specialized plant, Trifolium parryi, was positively related to the abundance of its Bombus pollinator. In contrast, fruit set for the generalized plant, T. dasyphyllum, was related to abundance of all Bombus species. Because forager abundance was related to nest abundance of each Bombus species and was an equally effective predictor of plant fecundity, forager inventories are probably suitable for assessing the health of outcrossing plant populations. However, nest abundance, rather than forager abundance, better reflects demographic and genetic health in populations of eusocial pollinators such as bumble bees. Development of models incorporating the parameters we have measured here (nest abundance, forager abundance, and foraging distance) could increase the usefulness of foraging worker inventories in monitoring, managing, and conserving pollinator populations.
Data from: Contemporary human-altered landscapes and oceanic barriers limit bumble bee gene flow
Much of the world's terrestrial landscape is being altered by humans in the form of agriculture, urbanization, and pastoral systems, with major implications for biodiversity. Bumble bees are one of the most effective pollinators in both natural and cultivated landscapes, but are often the first to be extirpated in human-altered habitats. Yet, little is known about the role of natural and human-altered habitats in promoting or limiting bumble bee gene flow. In this study, I closely examine the genetic structure of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, across the south-western US coast and find strong evidence that natural oceanic barriers, as well as contemporary human-altered habitats, limit bee gene flow. Heterozygosity and allelic richness were lower in island populations, while private allelic richness was higher in island populations compared to mainland populations. Genetic differentiation, measured for three indices across the 1000km study region, was significantly greater than the null expectation (FST =0.041, F'ST=0.044, Dest=0.155) and correlated with geographic distance. Furthermore, genetic differentiation patterns were most strongly correlated with contemporary (2011) not past (2006, 2001) resistance maps calibrated for high dispersal limitation over oceans, impervious habitat, and croplands. Despite the incorporation of dramatic elevation gradients, the analyses reveal that oceans and contemporary human land use, not mountains, are the primary dispersal barriers for B. vosnesenskii gene flow. These findings reinforce the importance of maintaining corridors of suitable habitat across the distribution range of native pollinators to promote their persistence and safeguard their ability to provide essential pollination services.
FIGURE 6 in Discrimination of the bumble bee species Bombus occidentalis Greene and B. terricola Kirby by morphometric, colour and RAPD variation
FIGURE 6. Right forewing of a Bombus queen. The distance to point E from each of the other 13 points was measured.
FIGURE 2 in Discrimination of the bumble bee species Bombus occidentalis Greene and B. terricola Kirby by morphometric, colour and RAPD variation
FIGURE 2. Two variant colour patterns of B. occidentalis found in Alberta. The specimen on the left has faint yellow hair on the abdomen and some additional yellow on the rear of the thorax, while the specimen on the right has a definite yellow band on abdominal tergum IV.
FIGURE 7 in Discrimination of the bumble bee species Bombus occidentalis Greene and B. terricola Kirby by morphometric, colour and RAPD variation
FIGURE 7. Plot of the first two Canonical scores for the 1985 and 1986 specimens of B. occidentalis and B. terricola. Yellow squares = occidentalis, 1985; green triangles = occidentalis 1986; red circles = terricola, 1985; blue pentagons = terricola 1986.
FIGURE 5 in Discrimination of the bumble bee species Bombus occidentalis Greene and B. terricola Kirby by morphometric, colour and RAPD variation
FIGURE 5. Bumble bee collection locations in Alberta: 1 = Ya-Ha Tinda Ranch, 2 = Calgary, 3= Sibbald Flats, 4 = Barrier Lake, 5 = Fortress Mountain, 6 = High Level, 7 = Fort McMurray, 8 = Lesser Slave Lake.
Fig. 7 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story
Fig. 7. Wing size differences between Palearctic, Eastern Nearctic, and Western Nearctic specimens of Bombus flavidus assessed by comparing centroid size. Box plots show the median and 25–75% percentiles. Whiskers show all data excluding outliers. Outliers (dots) are values being more than 1.5 times box length from upper and lower edge of respective box. The different letters indicate significant differences in centroid size between populations (type one ANOVA,Tukey's HSD test, P <0.05).
Fig. 3 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story
Fig. 3. Bayesian general mixed Yule-coalescent model (bGMYC) results based on COI phylogenetic tree. The colored matrix corresponds to the pairwise probabilities of conspecificity (color scale below the figure).
Fig. 2 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story
Fig. 2. Relationships of Bombus flavidus lineages inferred with cytochrome oxidase I (COI). (A) Haplotype network for the sequenced individuals, highlighting the connections between the haplotypes shown on the map (right). (B) Bayesian tree of B. flavidus and related species. Clade support values are Bayesian posterior probabilities.The right zoomed-in part of the figure highlights population structure. (C) Visualization of the major haplotypes mapped at their respective geographical locations.
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