Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| [comparative analysis of thermoregulation in the nests of certain species of social insects]. | studies have been made on thermal regulation in the nests of families of the honey bee apis mellifera, wasp dolihovespula silvestris and bumblebees bombus terrestris, b. agrorum and b. lapidaris during their maximum development. it was shown that thermoregulation significantly stimulated the brood in the nest. among the species investigated, the highest thermoregulatory capacities are exhibited by honey bees, this fact being associated with the large number of individuals in their colonies. duri ... | 2010 | 506590 |
| biting behaviour as a tactic of escape in two bumblebee species with different nesting habits, bombus terrestris l. and b. pascuorum scopoli (hymenoptera: apidae). | workers of two bumblebee species, bombus terrestris l. and b. pascuorum scopoli, had to find the way of escape out of a test tube closed with a paper membrane stretched against its open end. nearly all of the tested individuals solved successfully that task by tearing a hole in the membrane closing the tube. however, their escape behaviour showed significant interspecific differences. b. terrestris started biting the membrane sooner than b. pascuorum, and they were biting it more persistently. t ... | 1992 | 1632281 |
| digging as tactics of escape in two bumblebee species with different nesting ecology: bombus terrestris l. and b. pascuorum scopoli. | hymenoptera respond to confinement by vigorous and persistent escape behavior. in a field study, workers of two bumblebee species, bombus terrestris l. and b. pascuorum scop., were tested in glass tubes plugged by soil at the open end, and with their other, closed end oriented towards the-sunlight, so that the bees could alternate between two escape tactics: photopositive behavior and digging behavior. the bees of both species proved to be able to sdve such an escape task, i.e. to dig their way ... | 1988 | 3227997 |
| acetylcholine and an unidentified, muscle-contracting factor in the venom of the bumblebee, bombus terrestris l. | extracts of venom reservoirs as well as dilutions of venom droplets collected from the tip of the sting of bombus terrestris were tested for biological activity on the isolated guinea-pig ileum, the frog rectus abdominis, and the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation. the venom contains a cholinergic factor, apparently identical to acetylcholine, at a concentration of about 30 micrograms per venom reservoir. this was confirmed using radioimmunoassay of acetylcholine. the venom also contain ... | 1983 | 6138203 |
| mariner-like elements in hymenopteran species: insertion site and distribution. | copies of mariner-like element (mle) transposons in two species, the bumble bee, bombus terrestris, and the ant, myrmica ruginodis, were sequenced. the full-sized elements are 1250 bp long in both species and include 28-bp inverted terminal repeats. the five copies sequenced were approximately 75% similar to a mariner element (peach) of drosophila mauritiana. the distribution of mle in 27 hymenopteran species was studied by pcr and southern blot hybridization; 93% of the species contained one or ... | 1994 | 8159761 |
| characterization of (gt)n and (ct)n microsatellites in two insect species: apis mellifera and bombus terrestris. | a set of 52 (ct)n and 23 (gt)n microsatellites in honeybee, 24 (ct)n and 2 (gt)n microsatellites in bumble-bee (n > 6) have been isolated from partial genomic libraries and sequenced. on average, (ct)n and (gt)n microsatellites occur every 15 kb and 34 kb in honeybee and every 40 kb and 500 kb in bumble-bee, respectively. the prevailing categories are imperfect repeats for (ct)n microsatellites in bumble-bee, and perfect repeats for both (ct)n and (gt)n microsatellites in honey-bee. comparisons ... | 1993 | 8464734 |
| size homoplasy and mutational processes of interrupted microsatellites in two bee species, apis mellifera and bombus terrestris (apidae). | similar microsatellite electromorphs (pcr products of the same size) can arise from independent mutational events. such alleles are not identical by descent. this phenomenon, termed size homoplasy, was studied by sequencing electromorphs of two microsatellite loci in which the stretch of basic repeats is interrupted by different short (1-2 bp) dna motifs. the number and position of these interruptions were established for electromorphs from closely and distantly related populations of honeybees ... | 1995 | 8524041 |
| genetic differentiation of continental and island populations of bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae) in europe. | ten microsatellite loci and a partial sequence of the coii mitochondrial gene were used to investigate genetic differentiation in b. terrestris, a bumble bee of interest for its high-value crop pollination. the analysis included eight populations from the european continent, five from mediterranean islands (six subspecies altogether) and one from tenerife (initially described as a colour form of b. terrestris but recently considered as a separate species, b. canariensis). eight of the 10 microsa ... | 1996 | 9147693 |
| validation of the doubly labelled water technique for bumblebees bombus terrestris (l.) | the doubly labelled water (dlw) technique was validated for the bumblebee bombus terrestris (l.) using respirometry (resp) from tethered roundabout flights. we injected small volumes (1 µl) of a mixture containing low concentrations of deuterium and 18o and withdrew 1-2 µl of haemolymph to determine initial 18o concentration. the injected isotopes were equilibrated with the body water pool after 10 min, and high material turnover allowed the analysis of final blood isotope concentrat ... | 1996 | 9318758 |
| power output from a flight muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. i. some features of the dorso-ventral flight muscle | 1. isometric contractions from the asynchronous dorso-ventral flight muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris were slow and rather weak. the twitch duration (onset to 50 % relaxation) was approximately 300 ms at 30 °c and 170 ms at 40 °c. the maximum tetanic tension was approximately 40 kn m-2; the ratio of twitch force to tetanic force was approximately 0.2. 2. the unstimulated muscle was quite resistant to stretch, with a low-frequency stiffness of 730 kn m-2 at muscle lengths close t ... | 1997 | 9319067 |
| power output from a flight muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. ii. characterization of the parameters affecting power output | 1. length-tension relationships and work output were investigated in the intact, dorso-ventral flight muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. the muscle is an asynchronous muscle. like other asynchronous flight muscles, it has high resting stiffness and produces relatively low active force in response to tetanic stimulation. 2. the muscle shows shortening deactivation and stretch activation, properties that result in delayed force changes in response to step changes in length, a phase lag bet ... | 1997 | 9319078 |
| power output from a flight muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. iii. power during simulated flight | 1. the work loop approach was used to measure mechanical power output from an asynchronous flight muscle, the dorso-ventral muscle of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. measurements were made at the optimum muscle length for work output at 30 °c and at a muscle temperature (40 °c) and oscillatory frequency (141­173 hz, depending on the size of the animal) characteristic of free flight. oscillatory strain amplitude was adjusted to maximize power output. 2. there was much preparation-to- ... | 1997 | 9319101 |
| digging behaviour and responses to photic and gravitational cues as elements of escape behaviour of bumblebees. | we have investigated escape behaviour of workers of two bumblebee species, bombus terrestris and b. pascuorum, when confined to test tubes plugged with soil and either exposed to sunlight or kept in darkness. in both these situations b. terrestris performed better (i.e. escaped after a shorter time) than b. pascuorum. b. terrestris (but not b. pascuorum) also performed better in darkness than in tubes exposed to sunlight. this implies that in both situations b. terrestris showed higher readiness ... | 1997 | 9407692 |
| variation of microsatellite size homoplasy across electromorphs, loci, and populations in three invertebrate species. | size homoplasy was analyzed at microsatellite loci by sequencing electromorphs, that is, variants of the same size (base pairs). this study was conducted using five interrupted and/or compound loci in three invertebrate species, the honey bee apis mellifera, the bumble bee bombus terrestris, and the freshwater snail bulinus truncatus. the 15 electromorphs sequenced turned out to hide 31 alleles (i.e., variants identical in sequence). variation in the amount of size homoplasy was detected among e ... | 1998 | 9664695 |
| allergy to bumblebee venom. ii. ige cross-reactivity between bumblebee and honeybee venom. | to obtain more information on ige cross-reactivity between bumblebee venom and honeybee venom, we tested sera from venom-sensitized patients for specific ige against venoms from the european bumblebee (bombus terrestris), the north american bumblebee (megabombus pennsylvanicus), and the honeybee (apis mellifera). rast, rast-inhibition, and immunoblotting experiments indicate that bumblebee venom and honeybee venom contain venom-specific ige-binding epitopes. these results suggest that immunother ... | 1998 | 9722226 |
| single-clone and mixed-clone infections versus host environment in crithidia bombi infecting bumblebees. | current theories assume that adaptive parasite evolution explains variation in the level of virulence and parasite success. in particular, mixed-genotype infections by parasites should generally be more virulent, and faster multiplying strains more successful, either because fixed strategies have evolved or because parasites facultatively alter virulence in response to co-infecting competitors. we compared several measures of parasite success and virulence between single-clone and mixed-clone in ... | 1998 | 9820854 |
| sperm transfer and male competition in a bumblebee. | we investigated the dynamics of sperm transfer and the potential conflict between sexes over mating opportunities in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris l. we recorded copulation duration in flight cages and manipulated copulation time by separating mating pairs. sperm transfer and filling of the spermatheca were measured by dissecting queens at different time intervals after the onset of mating. on average, copulations lasted 37 min but most sperm were transferred into the female genital tract wit ... | 1999 | 10512647 |
| regulation of queen-worker conflict in bumble-bee (bombus terrestris) colonies | in annual colonies of bumble-bees overt queen-worker conflict is limited to a distinct 'competition phase' (cph). in unmanipulated bombus terrestris colonies, the queen's switch to male production (the 'switch point', sp) accounted for only-22% of the variation in the onset of the cph. in some colonies, the cph even began before the sp. the cph was more strongly correlated with the transition in queen production (r=0.79). replacing the queen eggs with male eggs or doubling the number of workers ... | 1999 | 10693816 |
| brain biogenic amines and reproductive dominance in bumble bees (bombus terrestris). | to begin to explore the role of biogenic amines in reproductive division of labor in social insects, brain levels of dopamine, serotonin, and octopamine were measured in bumble bee (bombus terrestris) workers and queens that differ in behavioral and reproductive state. levels of all three amines were similar for mated and virgin queens. young workers that developed with or without a queen had similar amine levels, but in queenright colonies differences in biogenic amine levels were associated wi ... | 2000 | 10757241 |
| ecdysteroid titer, ovary status, and dominance in adult worker and queen bumble bees (bombus terrestris). | the role of ecdysteroids in the regulation of dominance and reproduction in social hymenoptera is little explored. in the current study we compared ecdysteroid titers in hemolymph of individual queen and worker bumble bees (bombus terrestris) that differ in their behavior, reproductive status and social environment. egg-laying queens that head colonies and have ovaries exhibiting all stages of follicle development, had a higher ecdysteroid titer than virgin queens whose ovaries contained only fo ... | 2000 | 10802116 |
| caste-specific differences in ecdysteroid titers in early larval stages of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | mounting evidence implicates ecdysteroids in queen-worker differentiation during the last larval instars of highly social insects. in the present study, we analyzed ecdysteroid titers in queen and worker larvae of the bumblebee bombus terrestris from the second to the early fourth instar. b. terrestris is of particular interest because caste is already determined in the second instar, presumably by a pheromonal signal emitted by the egg-laying queen. caste differences in the adults, however, are ... | 2000 | 10891571 |
| pollination ecology of anthyllis vulneraria subsp. vulgaris (fabaceae): nectar robbers as pollinators. | this paper examines the hypothesis that nectar robbing can affect plant reproductive success either positively or negatively. to this end, i investigated various aspects of the pollination ecology of a population of the herb anthyllis vulneraria subsp. vulgaris in northwest spain over 5 yr. by observing floral visitors, i found that the most important pollinator species was the long-tongued bee anthophora acervorum, which accounted for ∼45% of recorded insect visits. however, just over 45% of vi ... | 2000 | 10898775 |
| the binding of visual patterns in bumblebees. | bees navigating between their nests and foraging sites rely on their ability to learn and to recall many complex visual patterns [1-4]. how are the elements that make up one of these patterns bound together so that the whole pattern can be recalled when it is required? consider the sentence: 'dons nod off.' the words in it can be distinguished by the pattern of elements or letters that they contain. words may contain the same elements arranged in different orders (don, nod), or contain elements ... | 2006 | 10959843 |
| survival for immunity: the price of immune system activation for bumblebee workers. | parasites do not always harm their hosts because the immune system keeps an infection at bay. ironically, the cost of using immune defenses could itself reduce host fitness. this indirect cost of parasitism is often not visible because of compensatory resource intake. here, workers of the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, were challenged with lipopolysaccharides and micro-latex beads to induce their immune system under starvation (i.e., not allowing compensatory intake). compared with controls, surv ... | 2000 | 11073456 |
| the spatial distribution of nonrewarding artificial flowers affects pollinator attraction. | many species of orchids that do not offer food rewards to pollinators bloom in clusters, early in the season, and are polymorphic for corolla colour. previous studies suggest that the foraging behaviour of insect pollinators may select for early blooming and colour polymorphism. i tested whether pollinator behaviour can also favour aggregated flowering in these species, in a two-stage laboratory experiment on naïve bumblebees, bombus terrestris (l.). in the first stage, the bees were allowed to ... | 2000 | 11082234 |
| the critical period for caste determination in bombus terrestris and its juvenile hormone correlates. | the critical period for caste determination and its juvenile hormone (jh iii) correlates were studied in bombus terrestris. larvae of known age and instar were taken from young colonies, in which they would have been reared as workers, and placed into groups of queenless workers. under these conditions the critical age for caste determination was 5 days, during the second instar. endocrine correlates of caste determination were obtained by determining profiles of juvenile hormone titer and juven ... | 2000 | 11195284 |
| visual constraints in foraging bumblebees: flower size and color affect search time and flight behavior. | in optimal foraging theory, search time is a key variable defining the value of a prey type. but the sensory-perceptual processes that constrain the search for food have rarely been considered. here we evaluate the flight behavior of bumblebees (bombus terrestris) searching for artificial flowers of various sizes and colors. when flowers were large, search times correlated well with the color contrast of the targets with their green foliage-type background, as predicted by a model of color oppon ... | 2001 | 11259668 |
| kin-selected conflict in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae). | kin selection theory predicts conflict in social hymenoptera between the queen and workers over male parentage because each party is more closely related to its own male offspring. some aspects of the reproductive biology of the bumble-bee bombus terrestris support kin selection theory but others arguably do not. we present a novel hypothesis for how conflict over male parentage should unfold in b. terrestris colonies. we propose that workers delay laying eggs until they possess information show ... | 2001 | 11270430 |
| a nonspecific fatty acid within the bumblebee mating plug prevents females from remating. | the best mating strategy for males differs from that of females, because females gain from mating with several males (polyandry), but males gain from monopolizing the females. as a consequence, males have evolved a variety of methods, such as the transfer of inhibitory substances from their accessory glands, to ensure exclusive paternity of the female's offspring, generally with detrimental effects on female fitness. inhibitory substances have been identified as peptides or other specific molecu ... | 2001 | 11274412 |
| are queen bombus terrestris giant workers or are workers dwarf queens? solving the 'chicken and egg' problem in a bumblebee species. | in the social bee, bombus terrestris, the two castes differ in size and physiology, but not in any other morphological and anatomical aspects. the size differences between the castes are the result of longer instar duration in prospective queen larvae. it appears that queen larvae are programmed to have a higher molting weight at the end of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th instars. calculation of the growth ratio, the ratio between the logarithm of molting weight at two successive instars, revealed that que ... | 2001 | 11320894 |
| hazards of imidacloprid seed coating to bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae) when applied to sunflower. | seed coating treatments of sunflower by the systemic insecticide imidacloprid was suspected of affecting honey bees and bumblebees. the hypothesis raised was whether imidacloprid could migrate into nectar and pollen, then modify flower attractiveness, homing behavior, and colony development. our greenhouse and field experiments with bombus terrestris l. were aimed at the following: the behavior of workers foraging on treated and control plants blooming in a greenhouse, the homing rate of colonie ... | 2001 | 11425015 |
| males of social insects can prevent queens from multiple mating. | during copulation, males of bombus terrestris fill the queen's sexual tract with a mating plug after transferring their sperm. the sticky secretion is produced by the male's accessory glands and disappears within a couple of days. experiments now show that the primary function of the plug is to reduce the subsequent mating probability of the queen. the plug is not efficient in preventing sperm migration into the spermatheca. due to its low energetic value, the plug is also unlikely to serve as a ... | 2001 | 11454287 |
| bumblebee commercialization will cause worldwide migration of parasitic mites. | we investigated natural populations of three japanese native bumblebee species to determine the status of infestation by a tracheal mite, locustacarus buchneri, which we had earlier detected in introduced commercial colonies of the european bumblebee, bombus terrestris. we also investigated mite infestation in commercial colonies of a japanese native species, b. ignitus, which are mass-produced in the netherlands and reimported into japan. we detected the mite in both natural and commercial colo ... | 2001 | 11555253 |
| unexpected consequences of polyandry for parasitism and fitness in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris. | multiple mating by females (polyandry) is taxonomically widespread but the evolution of such behaviors is not clearly understood given potential costs of polyandry such as time, energy, or predation risk. the genetic variability versus parasites hypothesis predicts a reduction of parasitism due to increased genetic variability among offspring and an associated fitness gain. we tested this hypothesis with a field experiment in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris l. worker heterogeneity within the co ... | 2001 | 11580023 |
| occupational allergy to bumblebees: allergens of bombus terrestris. | with the increase in commercial vegetable production in greenhouses, occupational sensitization to bumblebee venom is becoming more common. studies using sera from subjects thus sensitized allow evaluation of the allergenic specificity of bumblebee sensitization. | 2001 | 11692115 |
| a linkage analysis of sex determination in bombus terrestris (l.) (hymenoptera: apidae). | we constructed a linkage map of bombus terrestris (hymenoptera, apidae) phase unknown. the map contains 79 markers (six microsatellite and 73 rapd markers) in 21 linkage groups and spans over 953.1 cm. the minimal recombinational size of the b. terrestris genome was estimated to be 1073 cm. using flow cytometry, the physical size of the haploid genome of b. terrestris was calculated to be 274 mb. this is the second linkage map for a social insect species. bombus terrestris has on average five ti ... | 2001 | 11703515 |
| immune defence in bumble-bee offspring. | immune-challenged vertebrate females transfer specific antibodies to their offspring, but this gratuitous immunity cannot operate in invertebrates. here we show that constitutive immune defence is enhanced in sexual offspring of the bumble-bee bombus terrestris l. when the parental colony is immune-challenged. our findings indicate that invertebrates may use a different component of the immune system to generate a facultative trans-generational increase in the immune response. | 2001 | 11734840 |
| bumble bees alert to food with pheromone from tergal gland. | foragers of bombus terrestris are able to alert their nestmates to the presence of food sources. it has been supposed that this happens at least partially through the distribution of a pheromone inside the nest. we substantiate this claim using a behavioral test in which an alerting signal is transmitted from one colony to another by long distance air transport, so excluding all other modalities of information exchange. we then investigated the source of the pheromone and were able to show that ... | 2003 | 12548429 |
| activation of host constitutive immune defence by an intestinal trypanosome parasite of bumble bees. | many parasites, including important species that affect humans and livestock, must survive the harsh environment of insect guts to complete their life-cycle. hence, understanding how insects protect themselves against such parasites has immediate practical implications. previously, such protection has been thought to consist mainly of mechanical structures and the action of lectins. however, recently it has become apparent that gut infections may interact with the host immune system in more comp ... | 2003 | 12666884 |
| caste determination in bombus terrestris: differences in development and rates of jh biosynthesis between queen and worker larvae. | to study the possible role of juvenile hormone in caste determination in bombus terrestris, we measured development and rates of juvenile hormone biosynthesis in vitro in larvae destined to develop into either workers or queens. larvae of both castes developed through four instars and had the same growth rates. however, the duration of the instars was longer for queen larvae, and their head width at the third and fourth instars was significantly larger. after validating the well-known radiochemi ... | 1997 | 12769899 |
| juvenile hormone titers, juvenile hormone biosynthesis, ovarian development and social environment in bombus terrestris. | the effects of the social environment and age on juvenile hormone (jh) and reproduction were investigated by measuring ovarian development, hemolymph levels of jh iii, and rates of jh biosynthesis from the same individual bumble bees (bombus terrestris). differences in social environment were associated with differences in rates of jh biosynthesis, jh titer and ovarian development. young queenless workers had a higher rate of jh biosynthesis, jh titer and ovarian development than queenright (qr) ... | 2000 | 12770258 |
| specific versus nonspecific immune defense in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris l. | hosts vary in both their strength of response to a general immunological insult and in their specific susceptibility to different parasite species or different strains of the same parasite. the variation in the general immune response is considered a result of the costs imposed by selection on defended individuals. the variation in the specific response may originate from variation in host and parasite genotypes and is a requirement for frequency-dependent selection. the relationship between the ... | 2003 | 12894951 |
| interindividual variation of eye optics and single object resolution in bumblebees. | in the eusocial bumblebees, distinct size variation occurs within the worker caste of a colony. we show that there are pronounced differences in compound eye optical quality between individual workers in bombus terrestris. using scanning electron microscopy and antidromic illumination techniques (the pseudopupil method), we demonstrate that large workers have extended facet diameters in conjunction with reduced interommatidial angles. thus, both overall sensitivity and image resolution are super ... | 2003 | 12939375 |
| genetic analysis of spatial foraging patterns and resource sharing in bumble bee pollinators. | conservation biologists, evolutionary ecologists and agricultural biologists require an improved understanding of how pollinators utilize space and share resources. using microsatellite markers, we conducted a genetic analysis of space use and resource sharing at several spatial scales among workers of two ecologically dissimilar bumble bee species (bombus terrestris and b. pascuorum) foraging in an urban landscape (london, uk). at fine scales, the relatedness of workers visiting small patches o ... | 2003 | 12969482 |
| biological significance of distinguishing between similar colours in spectrally variable illumination: bumblebees (bombus terrestris) as a case study. | individual bumblebees were trained to choose between rewarded target flowers and non-rewarded distractor flowers in a controlled illumination laboratory. bees learnt to discriminate similar colours, but with smaller colour distances the frequency of errors increased. this indicates that pollen transfer might occur between flowers with similar colours, even if these colours are distinguishable. the effect of similar colours on reducing foraging accuracy of bees is evident for colour distances hig ... | 2004 | 14652688 |
| effects of sperm on female longevity in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris l. | the male ejaculate, particularly the accessory gland products, has been shown to affect female survival (as is best understood in drosophila melanogaster). so far, these findings have primarily been discussed in the context of a sexual conflict and multiple mating. here, we show that in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris, male genotype influences female longevity even though b. terrestris generally is a singly mated species and male and female interests may thus be more convergent. in addition, th ... | 2003 | 14667390 |
| absolute configuration of chiral terpenes in marking pheromones of bumblebees and cuckoo bumblebees. | the absolute configurations of citronellol, 2,3-dihydrofarnesol, and 2,3-dihydrofarnesal in male marking pheromones of seven species of bumblebees and cuckoo bumblebees were determined by enantioselective gas chromatography on a capillary column coated with 60% heptakis(2,3-di-o-acetyl-6-o-tbdms)-beta-cyclodextrin in polysiloxane ps 268. pure (-)-s-enantiomers of all three terpenes were found in the labial glands of all investigated specimens of the following species: bombus (bombus) terrestris, ... | 2004 | 15034905 |
| bumblebee search time without ultraviolet light. | bees often facilitate pollination of important greenhouse crops. individual bumblebees bombus terrestris were therefore tested in an indoor flight arena to evaluate whether or not search time to find flowers was influenced by the inclusion or exclusion of ultraviolet radiation. plastic model flowers of similar spectral properties to flowers of tomato lycopersicon esculentum mill. were used to evaluate bee search efficiency. the results show that bumblebees perceive when ultraviolet radiation is ... | 2004 | 15073201 |
| cytological evidence for triploid males and females in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris. | the presence of both triploid males and females in bombus terrestris was detected by distinct chromosome observation. these cytological features are novel among the higher hymenopteran insects. we thus strictly applied the complementary sex determination (csd) model previously proposed for hymenopteran insects. three out of 60 sibling queens that were mated with diploid males produced both triploid males and females, and founded colonies. the male to female ratio of the bees which emerged from t ... | 2004 | 15125635 |
| behavioural interactions, kin and disease susceptibility in the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | behavioural interactions are often analysed in terms of their costs and benefits to the actors [hamilton, (1964) j. theor. biol.7 1-16; gadagkar, (1993) trends ecol. evol.8 232-234; foster et al., (2001) ann. zool. fenn.38 229-238]. using the bumblebee bombus terrestris, we wish to distinguish between two possible determinants of interaction behaviour between conspecifics, namely kin-directed behaviour that reflects genetic distance between individuals, or, alternatively, interactions guided by ... | 2004 | 15271082 |
| symmetry is in the eye of the beeholder: innate preference for bilateral symmetry in flower-naïve bumblebees. | bilateral symmetry has been considered as an indicator of phenotypic and genotypic quality supporting innate preferences for highly symmetric partners. insect pollinators preferentially visit flowers of a particular symmetry type, thus leading to the suggestion that they have innate preferences for symmetrical flowers or flower models. here we show that flower-naïve bumblebees (bombus terrestris), with no experience of symmetric or asymmetric patterns and whose visual experience was accurately c ... | 2004 | 15278213 |
| does the queen win it all? queen-worker conflict over male production in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris. | social insects provide a useful model for studying the evolutionary balance between cooperation and conflict linked to genetic structure. we investigated the outcome of this conflict in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, whose annual colony life cycle is characterized by overt competition over male production. we established artificial colonies composed of a queen and unrelated workers by daily exchange of callow workers between colony pairs of distinct genetic make-up. using microsatellite analy ... | 2004 | 15278221 |
| social parasitism by male-producing reproductive workers in a eusocial insect. | the evolution of extreme cooperation, as found in eusocial insects (those with a worker caste), is potentially undermined by selfish reproduction among group members. in some eusocial hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), workers can produce male offspring from unfertilized eggs. kin selection theory predicts levels of worker reproduction as a function of the relatedness structure of the workers' natal colony and the colony-level costs of worker reproduction. however, the theory has been only part ... | 2004 | 15282605 |
| bumblebees (bombus terrestris) sacrifice foraging speed to solve difficult colour discrimination tasks. | the performance of individual bumblebees at colour discrimination tasks was tested in a controlled laboratory environment. bees were trained to discriminate between rewarded target colours and differently coloured distractors, and then tested in non-rewarded foraging bouts. for the discrimination of large colour distances bees made relatively fast decisions and selected target colours with a high degree of accuracy, but for the discrimination of smaller colour distances the accuracy decreased an ... | 2004 | 15316731 |
| the distribution of genotypes of the trypanosome parasite, crithidia bombi, in populations of its host, bombus terrestris. | this study reports the distribution of parasite genotypes for the trypanosome crithidia bombi across individual units (the colonies) in host populations of a social insect, the bumble bee bombus terrestris. a number of microsatellite primers were developed and several of them were found to be polymorphic in our samples. furthermore, a simple algorithm was used to identify the likely multi-locus genotypes present in multiply infected host individuals. the results demonstrated a remarkably high de ... | 2004 | 15376774 |
| in vivo dynamics of an immune response in the bumble bee bombus terrestris. | concepts from evolutionary ecology have recently been applied to questions of immune defences. however, an important but often neglected aspect is the temporal dynamics of the simple immune measures used in ecological studies. here, we present observations for workers of the bumble bee bombus terrestris on the dynamics of the phenoloxidase (po) system, antibacterial activity, and the total number of haemocytes following a challenge with immune elicitors (lps, laminarin), over a time-span ranging ... | 2004 | 15491600 |
| structural and transcriptional features of bombus terrestris satellite dna and their potential involvement in the differentiation process. | a unique satellite dna family was characterized in the genome of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris. sequence analysis revealed that it contains two wide palindromes of about 160 and 190 bp, respectively, that span 75% of the repeated unit. one feature of this satellite dna is that it accounts for different amounts of genomic dna in males and females. the dna curvature and bendability were determined by migration on page and by computer analysis. it has been correlated with the presence of da/dt ... | 2004 | 15499402 |
| sperm influences female hibernation success, survival and fitness in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris. | we present evidence that in the absence of the transfer of male gland compounds in the ejaculate as well as of behavioural male traits, such as mate guarding or harming of females, sperm itself affects female life-history traits such as hibernation success, female longevity and female fitness. using the bumble-bee bombus terrestris, we artificially inseminated queens (females) with sperm from one or several males and show that sire groups (groups of brother males) vary in their effects on queen ... | 2005 | 15705558 |
| seeing the light: illumination as a contextual cue to color choice behavior in bumblebees. | the principal challenge faced by any color vision system is to contend with the inherent ambiguity of stimulus information, which represents the interaction between multiple attributes of the world (e.g., object reflectance and illumination). how natural systems deal with this problem is not known, although traditional hypotheses are predicated on the idea that vision represents object reflectance accurately by discounting early in processing the conflating effects of illumination. here, we test ... | 2005 | 15731346 |
| pyridalyl, a novel insecticide: potency and insecticidal selectivity. | pyridalyl is an insecticide of a novel chemical class (unclassified insecticides). toxicity of pyridalyl to two insect pest species, spodoptera litura and frankliniella occidentalis, an insect predator, orius stringicollis, and a pollinator, bombus terrestris, was evaluated in the laboratory. the insecticidal activity of pyridalyl against s. litura was evaluated using the leaf-dipping method. the potency of pyridalyl was highly effective against all development stages (2nd to 6th instar larvae) ... | 2005 | 15756699 |
| an interspecific comparison of foraging range and nest density of four bumblebee (bombus) species. | bumblebees are major pollinators of crops and wildflowers in northern temperate regions. knowledge of their ecology is vital for the design of effective management and conservation strategies but key aspects remain poorly understood. here we employed microsatellite markers to estimate and compare foraging range and nest density among four uk species: bombus terrestris, bombus pascuorum, bombus lapidarius, and bombus pratorum. workers were sampled along a 1.5-km linear transect across arable farm ... | 2005 | 15836652 |
| reproductive division of labor, dominance, and ecdysteroid levels in hemolymph and ovary of the bumble bee bombus terrestris. | to determine whether ecdysteroids are associated with reproductive division of labor in bombus terrestris, we measured their levels in hemolymph and ovaries of queens and workers. queens heading colonies had large active ovaries with high ecdysteroid content, whereas virgin gynes and mated queens before and after diapause had undeveloped ovaries with low ecdysteroid content. the hemolymph ecdysteroid titer was rather variable, but in a pooled analysis of mated queens before and after diapause ve ... | 2005 | 15885700 |
| bumblebees, humble pollinators or assiduous invaders? a population comparison of foraging performance in bombus terrestris. | worldwide trade in non-native bumblebees remains largely unrestricted despite well-documented cases where introductions of non-native bees have gone dramatically wrong. within europe, indiscriminate importation of non-native populations of bumblebees (bombus terrestris) for the pollination of glasshouse crops continues on a massive scale. however, no risk assessment has been conducted for these introductions, perhaps because b. terrestris is considered a native species, so shipping populations f ... | 2005 | 15891827 |
| evolution of full-length and deleted forms of the mariner-like element, botmar1, in the genome of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae). | mariner-like elements (mle) are class ii transposable elements that are very widespread among eukaryotic genomes. one mle belonging to the mauritiana subfamily, named botmar1, has been identified in the genome of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris. gdna hybridization with the botmar1 transposase orf revealed that about 230 elements are present in each haploid genome of b. terrestris that consist entirely of 1.3- and 0.85-kbp elements. the analysis of their sequences revealed that there are two bo ... | 2005 | 15931496 |
| ace inhibitory activity in enzymatic hydrolysates of insect protein. | in this paper, ace inhibitory activity in insect protein hydrolyzed by various enzymes (gastrointestinal proteases, alcalase, and thermolysin) is reported for the first time. four insects of different insect orders were tested: spodoptera littoralis (lepidoptera), bombyx mori (lepidoptera), schistocerca gregaria (orthoptera), and bombus terrestris (hymenoptera). ace inhibitory activity was measured by two different methods: a spectrophotometric method using fapgg (2-furanacryloyl-phenylalanyl-gl ... | 2005 | 15969498 |
| the impact of host starvation on parasite development and population dynamics in an intestinal trypanosome parasite of bumble bees. | host nutrition plays an important role in determining the development and success of parasitic infections. while studies of vertebrate hosts are accumulating, little is known about how host nutrition affects parasites of invertebrate hosts. crithidia bombi is a gut trypanosome parasite of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris and here we use it as a model system to determine the impact of host nutrition on the population dynamics and development of micro-parasites in invertebrates. pollen-starved be ... | 2005 | 15977900 |
| analysis of pollen and nectar of arbutus unedo as a food source for bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae). | the mineral, total amino acid, and sterol compositions of pollen collected by apis mellifera l. were compared with the pollen of a plant consumed by bombus terrestris (l.): arbutus unedo l. this plant provides the predominant food resource for the main autumn generation of b. terrestris in southern france. honey bees also forage on this plant, although only for nectar. the mineral composition of 30 pollen samples collected by honey bees is close to the presently known requirements of a. mellifer ... | 2005 | 16022289 |
| differential gene expression in queen-worker caste determination in bumble-bees. | investigating how differential gene expression underlies caste determination in the social hymenoptera is central to understanding how variation in gene expression underlies adaptive phenotypic diversity. we investigated for the first time the association between differential gene expression and queen-worker caste determination in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris. using suppression subtractive hybridization we isolated 12 genes that were differentially expressed in queen- and worker-destined lar ... | 2005 | 16024376 |
| insect psychoneuroimmunology: immune response reduces learning in protein starved bumblebees (bombus terrestris). | it is well established in vertebrates that there are many intricate interactions between the immune system and the nervous system. here, we present behavioural evidence indicating a link between the immune system and the nervous system in insects. we show that otherwise non-infected bumblebees whose immune systems were challenged by a non-pathogenic immunogenic elicitor (lipopolysaccharide) have reduced abilities to learn or recall a memory in a classical conditioning paradigm. there is evidence ... | 2006 | 16084688 |
| detection of deformed wing virus, a honey bee viral pathogen, in bumble bees (bombus terrestris and bombus pascuorum) with wing deformities. | honey bees (apis mellifera) productively infected with deformed wing virus (dwv) through varroa destructor (v. destructor) during pupal stages develop into adults showing wing and other morphological deformities. here, we report for the first time the occurrence of bumble bees (bombus terrestris, bombus pascuorum) exhibiting wing deformities resembling those seen in clinically dwv-infected honey bees. using specific rt-pcr protocols for the detection of dwv followed by sequencing of the pcr prod ... | 2006 | 16300785 |
| diversity and phylotype consistency of bacteria in the guts of three bee species (apoidea) at an oilseed rape field. | the gut of insects may harbour one of the largest reservoirs of a yet unexplored microbial diversity. to understand how specific insects select for their own bacterial communities, the structural diversity and variability of bacteria found in the gut of different bee species was analysed. for three successive years, adults and larvae of apis mellifera ssp. carnica (honey bee), and bombus terrestris (bumble bee), as well as larvae of osmia bicornis (red mason bee) were collected at a flowering oi ... | 2006 | 16423014 |
| ultrarush immunotherapy in a patient with occupational allergy to bumblebee venom (bombus terrestris). | bumblebee venom allergies, though uncommon among the broad public, pose a significant risk in plant industry and scientific occupation. since a significant ige cross-reactivity between bumblebee and honeybee venom has been described in several cases and bumblebee venom for immunotherapy has been available only from a few suppliers, sit with honeybee venom was frequently used for bumblebee venom allergic patients in the past. we present the case of occupational bumblebee allergy in a biologist wh ... | 2005 | 16433215 |
| developmentally determined attenuation in circadian rhythms links chronobiology to social organization in bees. | we investigated labor-related plasticity in the circadian clock of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. bumblebee workers vary enormously in body size, and we found that size, division of labor, and diurnal rhythms in activity are correlated in b. terrestris colonies. large workers typically perform foraging activities with strong diurnal rhythms and low activity at night, whereas small bees typically care for (nurse) brood around the clock with weak or no diurnal rhythms. under constant laboratory ... | 2006 | 16513930 |
| identification of queen sex pheromone components of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | we investigated the origin and chemical composition of the queen sex pheromone of the primitively eusocial bumblebee, bombus terrestris (apidae). physiologically and behaviorally active compounds were identified by coupled gas chromatography electro-antennography (gc-ead), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms), and laboratory behavioral tests. in the behavioral assays, virgin queens frozen previously at -20 degrees c were highly attractive to males. dummies impregnated with surface and ce ... | 2006 | 16555129 |
| visual targeting of components of floral colour patterns in flower-naïve bumblebees (bombus terrestris; apidae). | floral colour patterns are contrasting colour patches on flowers, a part of the signalling apparatus that was considered to display shape and colour signals used by flower-visitors to detect flowers and locate the site of floral reward. here, we show that flower-naïve bumblebees (bombus terrestris) spontaneously direct their approach towards the outside margin of artificial flowers, which provides contrast between these dummy flowers and the background. if no floral guides are present, the bumbl ... | 2006 | 16568268 |
| serial passage of the parasite crithidia bombi within a colony of its host, bombus terrestris, reduces success in unrelated hosts. | in the wild, bombus spp. bees may contract infections of the trypanosome parasite crithidia bombi from their nestmates or from others while foraging on contaminated flowers. we expected that as c. bombi is transmitted repeatedly among related workers within a colony, the parasite population would become more successful in this relatively homogeneous host population and less successful in individuals from unrelated colonies of the same or different species. to test our prediction, we serially pas ... | 2006 | 16608683 |
| the safety of thiamethoxam to pollinating bumble bees (bombus terrestris l.) when applied to tomato plants through drip irrigation. | thiamethoxam, mainly sold under the trademark of actara, is a neonicotinoid widely used in covered vegetables for the control of aphids and whiteflies. in these crops, and particularly in covered tomatoes, bumble-bees are used for cross-pollination as an alternative to labour intensive manual techniques. in this study, made on tomatoes grown in separated greenhouse plots in murcia, southern spain, thiamethoxam was applied through drip irrigation at a rate of 200 g ai/ha, and as a split applicati ... | 2005 | 16628891 |
| bumblebees experience landscapes at different spatial scales: possible implications for coexistence. | coexistence in bumblebee communities has largely been investigated at local spatial scales. however, local resource partitioning does not fully explain the species diversity of bumblebee communities. theoretical studies provide new evidence that partitioning of space can promote species coexistence, when species interact with their environment at different spatial scales. if bumblebee species possess specific foraging ranges, different spatial resource utilisation patterns might operate as an ad ... | 2006 | 16758219 |
| insect immunity shows specificity in protection upon secondary pathogen exposure. | immunological memory in vertebrates, conferring lasting specific protection after an initial pathogen exposure, has implications for a broad spectrum of evolutionary, epidemiological, and medical phenomena . however, the existence of specificity in protection upon secondary pathogen exposure in invertebrates remains controversial . to separate this functional phenomenon from a particular mechanism, we refer to it as specific immune priming. we investigate the presence of specific immune priming ... | 2006 | 16782011 |
| hazards and uptake of chitin synthesis inhibitors in bumblebees bombus terrestris. | this research project examined the potential hazards of a major class of insect growth regulators (igrs) to survival, reproduction and larval growth in bumblebees bombus terrestris l. eight chitin synthesis inhibitors (csis) were tested: buprofezin, cyromazine, diflubenzuron, flucycloxuron, flufenoxuron, lufenuron, novaluron and teflubenzuron. these different igrs, which are important in the control of pest insects in greenhouses, were applied via three different routes of exposure under laborat ... | 2006 | 16786494 |
| an immune response in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris leads to increased food consumption. | the concept of a costly immune system that must be traded off against other important physiological systems is fundamental to the burgeoning field of ecological immunity. bumblebees have become one of the central models in this field. although previous work has demonstrated costs of immunity in numerous life history traits, estimates of the more direct costs of bumblebee immunity have yet to be made. | 2006 | 16846495 |
| heritability of sperm length in the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | sperm length is highly variable, both between and within species, but the evolutionary significance of this variation is poorly understood. sexual selection on sperm length requires a significant additive genetic variance, but few studies have actually measured this. here we present the first estimates of narrow sense heritability of sperm length in a social insect, the bumblebee bombus terrestris. in spite of a balanced and straightforward rearing design of colonies, and the possibility to repl ... | 2006 | 16850209 |
| behavioural ecology: bees associate warmth with floral colour. | floral colour signals are used by pollinators as predictors of nutritional rewards, such as nectar. but as insect pollinators often need to invest energy to maintain their body temperature above the ambient temperature, floral heat might also be perceived as a reward. here we show that bumblebees (bombus terrestris) prefer to visit warmer flowers and that they can learn to use colour to predict floral temperature before landing. in what could be a widespread floral adaptation, plants may modulat ... | 2006 | 16885975 |
| isolation and characterization of chitin from bumblebee (bombus terrestris). | insect chitin possessing shell-like structure was prepared from the bumblebee corpses by a consequent treatment with 1m hcl and 1m naoh. the bumblebee chitin was compared with crustacean (shrimp) chitin by using elemental analysis, fourier-transform infrared (ft-ir) and solid-state (13)c cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (cp/mas)-nmr spectroscopy and confocal microscopy. both chitins (bumblebee and shrimp) exhibited identical spectra, while the bumblebee chitin h ... | 2007 | 16949663 |
| presence of a thermoregulatory hot spot in the prothorax of the large carpenter bee and the bumble bee. | in both the large carpenter bee (xylocopa pubescens) and the bumblebee (bombus terrestris), a hot spot was detected in the center of the prothorax on its dorsal-external aspect. in both cases, the temperature in this hot spot was found to be greater than the ambient temperature and that at the tip of the gaster. in b. terrestris, it was higher by 9-10 degrees c from that at the gaster tip and by 15-16 degrees c from the ambient temperature, while in x. pubescens the corresponding differences wer ... | 2006 | 16952147 |
| bumblebees can be used in combination with juvenile hormone analogues and ecdysone agonists. | this study examined the lethal and sublethal effects on the beneficial insect bombus terrestris by two classes of insect growth regulators (igrs) that are commercially used in agriculture to control pest insects. three juvenile hormones analogues (jhas) (pyriproxyfen, fenoxycarb and kinoprene) and two ecdysone agonists or moulting accelerating compounds (macs) (tebufenozide and methoxyfenozide) were tested. the bumblebee workers were exposed to the insecticides via three different routes of expo ... | 2006 | 16988884 |
| cytological variation and pathogenicity of the bumble bee parasite nosema bombi (microspora, nosematidae). | in three field seasons, 2003-2005, bumble bees were collected in southern sweden and eastern denmark in search of microsporidian parasites. of the 16 bumble bee species studied, microsporidia were found in bombus hortorum, bombus hypnorum, bombus lapidarius, bombus lucorum, bombus pascuorum, bombus pratorum, bombus ruderarius, bombus subterraneus and bombus terrestris. only one microsporidian species, nosema bombi, was recorded. a microsporidium found in b. pratorum differed cytologically from m ... | 2007 | 17005191 |
| spatial distribution of bumblebees foraging on two cultivars of tomato in a commercial greenhouse. | the spatial distribution of foraging bumblebees, bombus terrestris l. (hymenoptera: apidae), was studied in a greenhouse planted with two cultivars of tomato, lycopersicum esculentum mill. (solanaceae), in two patches. in both patches, bumblebee densities per square meter were measured on plots, and the results showed that their densities were nearly similar. the densities of available flowers, their pollen production, and availability also were measured. our results showed that, although the cu ... | 2006 | 17066784 |
| response characteristics of visual altitude control system in bombus terrestris. | frequency response characteristics of bumblebees to vertical visual oscillations were measured and analyzed. we measured the vertical force of the bees at four oscillation frequencies (0.9, 1.8, 3.6 and 7.4 hz), and summarized their response characteristics in terms of amplitude and phase differences. the amplitude was almost constant throughout the examined frequency domain, whereas the phase gradually lagged with increasing frequency. in order to view the relationship between the input (visual ... | 2006 | 17079723 |
| properties of the various botmar1 transcripts in imagoes of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae). | botmar1 elements are mariner-like elements (mles), class ii transposable elements that occur in the genome of the bumble bee, bombus terrestris. each haploid b. terrestris genome contains about 230 botmar1, consisting entirely of 1.3-kb and 0.85-kb elements. during their evolution in the b. terrestris genome, two botmar1 lineages have been differentiated in terms of their nucleic acid sequences and the differences found in their 5' untranslated regions suggest that they could be transcribed diff ... | 2007 | 17088026 |
| phylogenetic analysis of honey bee behavioral evolution. | dna sequences from three mitochondrial (rrnl, cox2, nad2) and one nuclear gene (itpr) from all 9 known honey bee species (apis), a 10th possible species, apis dorsata binghami, and three outgroup species (bombus terrestris, melipona bicolor and trigona fimbriata) were used to infer apis phylogenetic relationships using bayesian analysis. the dwarf honey bees were confirmed as basal, and the giant and cavity-nesting species to be monophyletic. all nodes were strongly supported except that groupin ... | 2007 | 17123837 |
| trans-generational immune priming in a social insect. | detecting functional homology between invertebrate and vertebrate immunity is of interest in terms of understanding the dynamics and evolution of immune systems. trans-generational effects on immunity are well known from vertebrates, but their existence in invertebrates remains controversial. earlier work on invertebrates has interpreted increased offspring resistance to pathogens as trans-generational immune priming. however, interpretation of these earlier studies involves some caveats and thu ... | 2005 | 17148213 |
| pollen foraging: learning a complex motor skill by bumblebees (bombus terrestris). | to investigate how bumblebees (bombus terrestris) learn the complex motor skills involved in pollen foraging, we observed naïve workers foraging on arrays of nectarless poppy flowers (papaver rhoeas) in a greenhouse. foraging skills were quantified by measuring the pollen load collected during each foraging bout and relating this to the number of flowers visited and bout duration on two consecutive days. the pollen standing crop (psc) in each flower decreased drastically from 0530 to 0900 hours. ... | 2007 | 17149583 |
| a core linkage map of the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | the bumblebee bombus terrestris is an economically important pollinator and an emerging model species in quantitative and population genetics. we generated genetic linkage maps for 3 independent mapping populations of b. terrestris. the linkage map with the highest resolution had 21 linkage groups, which adequately represents the haploid chromosome number of b. terrestris (n = 18). this map can be considered saturated, with an average marker distance of 10.3 cm and an estimated genome coverage o ... | 2006 | 17213903 |
| field study results on the probability and risk of a horizontal gene transfer from transgenic herbicide-resistant oilseed rape pollen to gut bacteria of bees. | bees are specifically subjected to intimate contacts with transgenic plants due to their feeding activities on pollen. in this study, the probability and ecological risk of a gene transfer from pollen to gut bacteria of bees was investigated with larvae of apis mellifera (honeybee), bombus terrestris (bumblebee), and osmia bicornis (red mason bee), all collected at a flowering transgenic oilseed rape field. the plants were genetically engineered with the pat-gene, conferring resistance against g ... | 2007 | 17273854 |
| photoreceptor spectral sensitivity in island and mainland populations of the bumblebee, bombus terrestris. | most species of flower-visiting hymenoptera are trichromatic, with photoreceptor spectral sensitivity peaks in the uv, blue and green regions of the spectrum. red flowers, therefore, should be relatively difficult to detect for such insects. nevertheless, in population biological studies in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, the sardinian island population (b. t. sassaricus) displayed significantly higher responses to red artificial flowers (in tests of innate colour choice and detectability) tha ... | 2007 | 17333207 |
| natural variation in the genetic architecture of a host-parasite interaction in the bumblebee bombus terrestris. | the genetic architecture of fitness-relevant traits in natural populations is a topic that has remained almost untouched by quantitative genetics. given the importance of parasitism for the host's fitness, we used qtl mapping to study the genetic architecture of traits relevant for host-parasite interactions in the trypanosome parasite, crithidia bombi and its host, bombus terrestris. the three traits analysed were the parasite's infection intensity, the strength of the general immune response ( ... | 2007 | 17391417 |
| the genetic architecture of immune defense and reproduction in male bombus terrestris bumblebees. | understanding the architecture of genetic variation, that is the number, effect, location, and interaction, of genes responsible for phenotypic variability in nature is important for the understanding of microevolutionary processes. in this study, we have used a quantitative trait loci (qtl) approach to uncover the genetic architecture of fitness-relevant traits associated with reproduction and immune defense in male bombus terrestris bumblebees. three male reproductive investment traits, the nu ... | 2007 | 17439613 |
| size determines antennal sensitivity and behavioral threshold to odors in bumblebee workers. | the eusocial bumblebees exhibit pronounced size variation among workers of the same colony. differently sized workers engage in different tasks (alloethism); large individuals are found to have a higher probability to leave the colony and search for food, whereas small workers tend to stay inside the nest and attend to nest duties. we investigated the effect of size variation on morphology and physiology of the peripheral olfactory system and the behavioral response thresholds to odors in worker ... | 2007 | 17479233 |
| nosema bombi: a pollinator parasite with detrimental fitness effects. | nosema bombi is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects different bumblebee species at a substantial, though variable, rate. to date its pathology and impact on host fitness are not well understood. we performed a laboratory experiment investigating the pathology and fitness effects of this parasite on the bumblebee bombus terrestris. we experimentally infected one group of colonies with n. bombi spores at the start of the worker production, while a second uninfected group of colonies se ... | 2007 | 17482641 |