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Fig. 5 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 5. Dendrogram based on cephalic labial gland secretions of Bombus flavidus with represented Eastern Nearctic (purple) and Palearctic + western Nearctic (green) lineages. This cluster was obtained by hierarchical clustering using an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) based on correlation distance matrices calculated from the relative abundance of the compounds present in cephalic labial gland secretions (CLGS).The values near nodes represent multiscale bootstrap resampling values. Multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) indicates level of CLGS differentiation between taxa.

Fig. 1 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 1. Global distribution of Bombus flavidus (Palearctic) and Bombus fernaldae (Nearctic). Distributional ranges are approximated based on literature records (Williams et al. 2014; Ascher and Pickering 2020) and thus are not meant to be accurate at a fine scale.

Fig. 9 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 9. Geographic distribution of B. flavidus color patterns in Oregon. (A) Average percent of individual yellow pile; (B) boxplots comparing total body pile percent yellow between individuals from Western and Eastern localities.The asterisks indicate a significant different between boxplots (unpaired two-tailed t-test, ***P <0.0001).

Fig. 4 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 4. Median-joining network of haplotypes based on nuclear genes ITS and PEPCK. Circle sizes are proportional to frequencies of haplotypes. Colors of haplotypes refer to geographic areas (Fig. 3). Black bars on lines represent the number of mutation(s) between two close haplotypes. Black circles are outgroups (B. skorikovi and B. norvegicus).

Fig. 6 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 6. (A) Ordination of individuals of Bombus flavidus along the first two principal components (PCA1 and PCA2) of the principal components analysis of the landmark configuration variability. (B) Ordination of individuals of Bombus flavidus along the two first axes (LDA1 and LDA2) of the linear discriminant analysis of the landmark configuration variability.

Fig. 8 in Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

Fig. 8. Global distribution of color patterns of Bombus flavidus. The extremes and intermediates of color observed are shown for each region. Color patterns with asterisks (Scandinavia) were extracted from LØken (1985).

opencc-zeroNov 2021View details →

Data from: Equivalent learning, but unequal participation: male bumble bees learn comparably to females, but participate in cognitive assessments at lower rates

Sex-specific cognitive abilities are well documented. These can occur when sexes engage in different ecological contexts. Less known is whether different ecological contexts can also drive sex-specific participation rates in behavioral tests. Here, we explore this question in bumble bees, a group of eusocial insects where worker females and males exhibit stark socioecological differences. Among myriad colony maintenance tasks, workers forage for themselves and developing brood, while males forage only for themselves while mate-searching. Following upon previous studies suggesting no sex differences in bumble bee learning, we test the hypothesis that despite having equivalent associative learning abilities, males participate in cognitive assessments offering nutritional rewards at lower rates. Testing >500 bees from nine colonies in a differential conditioning protocol, we find support for our hypothesis. An equivalent proportion of workers and males successfully completed our cognitive assessment, while a significantly lower proportion of males participated in the entire protocol. Unequal participation is a perennial issue in the behavioral sciences, limiting sample size and potentially biasing results. Our results suggest that to understand the true range of variation in cognition, sex-differences in participation must be accounted for.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Behavioral responses by a bumble bee to competition with a niche-constructing congener

<ul> <li>While feeding, foragers can alter their environment. Such alteration constitutes ecological niche construction (ENC) if it enables future benefits for the constructor and conspecific individuals. The environmental modification may also affect non-constructing, bystander species, especially if they share resources with constructor species. If so, ENC could confer the constructor species a competitive advantage by both enhancing its foraging returns and reducing those of bystander species. </li> <li>Expectations – (E1) ENC frequency should vary positively with the recent and current density of the constructor species, and (E2) constructors should use modifications disproportionately. In contrast, bystanders should (E3) experience intensified competition for the affected resource, and (E4) exhibit diverse, possibly mitigating, responses to ENC, depending on opportunity and relative benefits. </li> <li>We investigated these expectations in Argentina for competition for Fuchsia magellanica nectar between an invasive bumble bee, Bombus terrestris (terr: putative constructor), that often bites holes at the bases of floral tubes to rob nectar, and native B. dahlbomii (dahl: bystander), which normally accesses Fuchsia nectar through the flower mouth (front visits). Robbing holes constitute ENC, as they persist until the 7-day flowers wilt. The dynamics of the incidence of robbed flowers, abundance of both bees, and the number and types of their flower visits (front or robbing) were characterised by alternate-day surveys of plants during 2.5 months.</li> <li>After initially accessing Fuchsia nectar via front visits, terr switched to robbing and its abundance on Fuchsia increased 20-fold within 10 days (E2). Correspondingly, the incidence of robbed flowers varied positively with recent and past terr abundance (E1). In contrast, dahl abundance remained low and varied negatively with the incidence of robbed flowers (E3). When terr ceased visiting Fuchsia, dahl abundance increased six-fold within 10 days (E3), possibly because many dahl previously had avoided competition with terr by feeding on other plant species (E4). While terr was present, dahl on Fuchsia used front visits (tolerance) or used existing robbing holes (adoption: E4). The diverse dahl responses suggest partial compensation for competition with terr.</li> <li>ENC alters competitive asymmetry, favouring constructor species. However, bystander responses can partially offset this advantage, perhaps facilitating coexistence. </li> </ul>

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Data from: Landscape complementation is a driver of bumble bee (Bombus sp.) abundance in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Context: Land use change is a major factor influencing biodiversity, but the mechanisms that drive species losses require further examination. Habitat loss often reduces biodiversity, but habitat fragmentation can increase biodiversity when examined independently. Processes driving this pattern remain largely unclear. Objectives: We aimed to determine the effects of habitat fragmentation on bumble bee populations after controlling for habitat amount, and to examine possible mechanisms behind observed effects. Methods: We sampled 22 species of bumble bees (Bombus sp.) across 50 unique sites located throughout the Canadian Rockies using a sampling design that minimized correlations between amount and spatial arrangement of land covers that may represent important habitat for bees. We modeled bumble bee abundance, species richness and diversity as a function of land cover metrics. Results: Effects of land cover fragmentation were dependent on both the measure of fragmentation used, and landscape scale. Bumble bee abundance was higher where nesting habitat (forest) and foraging habitat (grassland) were found adjacent to each other within 300 m, suggesting a landscape complementation effect where bees benefit from having access to both land cover types in proximity to one another. Having available habitat split into a greater number of patches was detrimental when considering the immediate area (0-300 m), but beneficial when quantified in more distant areas (300-600 m). Conclusions: Landscape complementation may be an important component behind positive fragmentation effects. Estimates of multiple measures of fragmentation are important when testing the impacts of land cover and landscape changes on species abundance and biodiversity.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

Exposure to urban heavy metal contamination diminishes bumble bee colony growth

As a result of their industrial past, legacy cites often have elevated concentrations of soil heavy metal contamination. Metal pollution can have negative and prolonged ecosystem impacts, and bees that forage in these urban ecosystems are at risk of exposure. Legacy cities are known to support species rich bee communities, which highlights the importance of determining the impact of heavy metal contamination on wild bee health. We examined how oral exposure to concentrations of four metals found within the provisions of bees foraging within Cleveland, Ohio, USA influenced colony growth of Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a common species within legacy cities across the eastern United States. Colony weight and brood survivorship were compared among hives fed uncontaminated sucrose solution (hereafter nectar), nectar spiked with one metal (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, or lead), and nectar containing all metals, after 15 or 30 d of exposure within flight tents. Across both exposure periods, we found a significantly higher proportion of dead brood in metal exposed hives. Additionally, colonies fed all four metals had a significantly higher proportion of dead brood than those fed a single metal. Our findings illustrate that even low, environmentally relevant concentrations of metals collected by B. impatiens in legacy cities can negatively influence bee colony growth. We highlight the need to identify metal exposure routes for bees in contaminated landscapes to minimize risk and bolster conservation habitat initiative success.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Consuming sunflower pollen reduced pathogen infection but did not alter measures of immunity in bumble bees

Certain diets can benefit bee health by reducing pathogens, but the mechanism(s) driving these medicinal effects are largely unexplored. Recent research found that sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen reduces the gut pathogen Crithidia bombi in the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). Here, we tested the effects of sunflower pollen and infection on two bee immune metrics to determine if sunflower pollen diet drives changes in host immunity that can explain this medicinal effect. Bees were infected with C. bombi or not and given either sunflower or wildflower pollen. Subsequently, bees received a benign immune challenge or were left naïve to test the induced and constitutive immune responses, respectively. We measured hemolymph phenoloxidase activity, involved in the melanization cascade, and antibacterial activity. Sunflower pollen reduced C. bombi infection, but we found no significant pollen diet effect on either immune measure. Phenoloxidase activity was also not affected by C. bombi infection status; however, uninfected bees were more likely to have measurable constitutive antibacterial activity, while infected bees had higher induced antibacterial activity. Overall, we found that sunflower pollen does not significantly affect the immune responses we measured, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying its medicinal effect do not involve these bee immune parameters.

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

Bumble bee occurrences of North America from 1805–2020

Bumble bee occurrence data used for "Climate change winners and losers among North American bumble bees": These data comprise 649 407 specimen records from 48 species and spans 1805–2020. These records have been compiled from a variety of collections and sources with reputable origin. Data contributors are listed in: <a href="https://www.leifrichardson.org/bbna.html">https://www.leifrichardson.org/bbna.html</a>

Figure 4 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 4. Captures of Bombus a-f-p group averaged by week at three sites near Athens, Georgia, USA. HF = Durham Horticulture Farm in Watkinsville, GA; WG = Woodland Gardens in Athens, GA; SV = Spring Valley EcoFarms in Athens, GA. No surveys were conducted during the week of 28 June due to a lack of available person-hours.

Figure 3 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 3. Bombus impatiens captures averaged by week at three sites near Athens, Georgia, USA. HF = Durham Horticulture Farm in Watkinsville, GA; WG = Woodland Gardens in Athens, GA; SV = Spring Valley EcoFarms in Athens, GA. No surveys were conducted during the weeks of 28 June or 6 September due to a lack of available person-hours, or the weeks of 16–30 August due to inclement weather and/or insufficient number of bees observed. Average captures for B. impatiens are underrepresented during the following weeks due to limited supplies: 14 June, 12 July, 2 and 9 August, 9 August, 13 September, 4 October.

Figure 1 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 1. Bombus bimaculatus captures averaged per week at three sites near Athens, Georgia, USA. HF = Durham Horticulture Farm in Watkinsville, GA; WG = Woodland Gardens in Athens, GA; SV = Spring Valley EcoFarms in Athens, GA. This species was not captured during the week of 21 June. No surveys were conducted during the week of 28 June due to a lack of available personhours.

Figure 6 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 6. Average weekly captures of Bombus bimaculatus castes across three sites in 2010 near Athens, Georgia, USA. No individuals of this species were captured during the week of 21 June. No surveys were conducted during the week of 28 June due to a lack of available person-hours.

Figure 9 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 9. Average captures per week of Bombus griseocollis castes across three sites in 2010 near Athens, Georgia, USA. No surveys were conducted during the week of 28 June due to a lack of available person-hours. No individuals of this species were captured during the week of 26 July.

Figure 8 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 8. Caste percentages of total Bombus captures across three sites near Athens, Georgia, USA, in 2010. Bb = Bombus bimaculatus, Bg = B. griseocollis and Bi = B. impatiens. Q = queen, W = worker and M = male castes. Total captures = 1956; Bb total captures = 228, Bg total captures = 529, Bi total captures = 1058.

Figure 5 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 5. Average weekly captures of Bombus bimaculatus (Bb), B. griseocollis (Bg), B. impatiens (Bi) and B. a-f-p group (Bafp) across three sites in 2010 near Athens, Georgia, USA. No surveys were conducted during the weeks of 28 June or 6 September due to a lack of available person-hours, or the weeks of 16–30 August due to inclement weather and/or an insufficient number of bees observed at all sites. No B. bimaculatus individuals were captured during the week of 21 June. No B. griseocollis individuals were captured during the week of 26 July. Weekly average captures for B. impatiens are underrepresented during the following weeks due to insufficient supplies: 14 June, 12 July, 2 August, 9 August, 13 September, 4 October.

Figure 7 in An exploratory study of bumble bee (Bombus) phenologies and plant interactions in agricultural landscapes in central Georgia, USA

Figure 7. Caste percentages of total captures from each Bombus species across three sites near Athens, Georgia, USA, in 2010. Bb = Bombus bimaculatus, Bg = B. griseocollis and Bi = B. impatiens. Q = queen, W = worker and M = male castes. Bb total captures = 228, Bg total captures = 529, Bi total captures = 1058.