Publications

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
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
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
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
invasion success of the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, despite a drastic genetic bottleneck.	in early 1992, the european bumblebee, bombus terrestris, was first seen in tasmania and currently has spread to most of the island. here, we report on the genetic structure, using micro-satellites, of the invading population from samples collected in the years 1998-2000, a few years after the first sighting of the species in its new area. the data show that the tasmanian population has a very low genetic diversity, with less than half of the allelic richness (richness=2.89 alleles; h(exp)=0.591 ...	2007	17551520
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
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
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
modified slca algorithm for full-sib reconstruction of haplodiploid species.	full-sib reconstruction from molecular marker data in the absence of parental information is an active research area. such analyses can provide useful information for studies of mating systems and gene flow, and for estimating effective population size in the wild. although various methods have been proposed, but their estimation accuracies for some applications are not known. here we propose a modified version of shared loci correspondence analysis (mslca) to reconstruct full-sib families of ha ...	2007	18284781
demographic consequences of drift in contiguous hives of bombus terrestris.	the objective of this experiment was 1) to quantify drift between bumblebee, bombus terrestris l., colonies when hives are vertically stacked; and 2) to measure the impact of drift on the colony growth. the experiment was conducted outside, in an open area, at three sites with one stack of three colonies per site. observations were made from the 28th to the 58th d of the colony development, before the competition point. bumblebees were regularly marked with a colony-specific color to access the ...	2007	18232391
age-dependent changes in structure and function of the male labial gland in bombus terrestris.	the cephalic region of the labial gland in the buff-tailed bumblebee, bombus terrestris, consists of numerous acini (formed by associated secretory cells and a central lumen) and connecting ducts. age-dependent changes in secretion production (both qualitative and quantitative) are associated with changes in the amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum (rer), golgi apparatus, and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ser). the main secretory organelle is rer in the youngest individuals (pharate, and less-t ...	2008	17950308
intraspecific variation of the cephalic labial gland secretions in bombus terrestris (l.) (hymenoptera: apidae).	variations of secretions of the cephalic part of the labial glands from four different subspecies of bombus terrestris, b. t. terrestris, b. t. lusitanicus, b. t. sassaricus, and b. t. dalmatinus, were investigated. 95 compounds were detected in the whole data set: 54 in b. t. terrestris, 54 in b. t. lusitanicus, 48 in b. t. sassaricus, and 44 in b. t. dalmatinus. the (e)-2,3-dihydrofarnesol is the main compound in b. t. dalmatinus and b. t. sassaricus, while it is dihydrofarnesyl dodecanoate in ...	2008	19089823
aerodynamic sound generation of flapping wing.	the unsteady flow and acoustic characteristics of the flapping wing are numerically investigated for a two-dimensional model of bombus terrestris bumblebee at hovering and forward flight conditions. the reynolds number re, based on the maximum translational velocity of the wing and the chord length, is 8800 and the mach number m is 0.0485. the computational results show that the flapping wing sound is generated by two different sound generation mechanisms. a primary dipole tone is generated at w ...	2008	18646956
immune response impairs learning in free-flying bumble-bees.	parasites can influence different host behaviours including foraging, mate choice and predator avoidance. several recent papers have shown reduced learning abilities in infected insects. however, it is difficult to separate the effects of the immune response from the direct effects of the parasite. using a free-flying learning paradigm, this paper shows that learning performance is impaired in bumble-bees (bombus terrestris) that are not infected but whose immune system is stimulated non-pathoge ...	2008	18628116
social transmission of nectar-robbing behaviour in bumble-bees.	social transmission of acquired foraging techniques is rarely considered outside of a vertebrate context. here, however, we show that nectar robbing by bumble-bees (bombus terrestris)-an invertebrate behaviour of considerable ecological significance-has the potential to spread through a population at the accelerated rates typical of social transmission. nectar robbing occurs when individuals either bite through the base of a flower to 'steal' nectar (primary robbing) or use robbing holes that ot ...	2008	18430642
age-dependent changes in the chemistry of exocrine glands of bombus terrestris queens.	extracts of three different glands (mandibular, labial, and dufour's) of virgin bombus terrestris queens at ten different ages (1-8, 12, and 18 days) were analyzed for chemical composition. one hundred and twenty-seven compounds were identified in the extracts. the mandibular and labial glands contained previously reported electroantennogram-active compounds (3-hydroxydecanoic acid, fatty acids of different chain lengths, their esters, and heptacosene). these compounds reached a maximum concentr ...	2008	18369674
fertility signals in the bumblebee bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae).	in eusocial hymenoptera, queen control over workers is probably inseparable from the mechanism of queen recognition. in primitively eusocial bumblebees (bombus), worker reproduction is controlled not only by the presence or absence of a dominant queen but also by other dominant workers. furthermore, it was shown that the queen dominance is maintained by pheromonal cues. we investigated whether there is a similar odor signal released by egg-laying queens and workers that may have a function as a ...	2008	18320160
comparative psychophysics of bumblebee and honeybee colour discrimination and object detection.	bumblebee (bombus terrestris) discrimination of targets with broadband reflectance spectra was tested using simultaneous viewing conditions, enabling an accurate determination of the perceptual limit of colour discrimination excluding confounds from memory coding (experiment 1). the level of colour discrimination in bumblebees, and honeybees (apis mellifera) (based upon previous observations), exceeds predictions of models considering receptor noise in the honeybee. bumblebee and honeybee photor ...	2008	18437390
pollinator foraging modifies nectar sugar composition in helleborus foetidus (ranunculaceae):an experimental test.	we experimentally tested the hypothesis that the extensive within-plant variation of nectar sugar composition in helleborus foetidus (ranunculaceae) and other species results from differences between flowers and nectaries in pollinator visitation history. experiments were conducted to mimic single-nectary visits by wild-caught individuals of the main bee pollinators of h. foetidus, which were assayed for their capacity to modify the sugar composition of natural and artificial nectar. experimenta ...	2008	21632356
the correlation of learning speed and natural foraging success in bumble-bees.	despite the widespread assumption that the learning abilities of animals are adapted to the particular environments in which they operate, the quantitative effects of learning performance on fitness remain virtually unknown. here, we evaluate the learning performance of bumble-bees (bombus terrestris) from multiple colonies in an ecologically relevant associative learning task under laboratory conditions, before testing the foraging performance of the same colonies under the field conditions. we ...	2008	18198141
bumblebee flight distances in relation to the forage landscape.	1. foraging range is a key aspect of the ecology of 'central place foragers'. estimating how far bees fly under different circumstances is essential for predicting colony success, and for estimating bee-mediated gene flow between plant populations. it is likely to be strongly influenced by forage distribution, something that is hard to quantify in all but the simplest landscapes; and theories of foraging distance tend to assume a homogeneous forage distribution. 2. we quantified the distribution ...	2008	17986207
foraging scent marks of bumblebees: footprint cues rather than pheromone signals.	in their natural habitat foraging bumblebees refuse to land on and probe flowers that have been recently visited (and depleted) by themselves, conspecifics or other bees, which increases their overall rate of nectar intake. this avoidance is often based on recognition of scent marks deposited by previous visitors. while the term 'scent mark' implies active labelling, it is an open question whether the repellent chemicals are pheromones actively and specifically released during flower visits, or ...	2008	17724572
validation of a method using queenless bombus terrestris micro-colonies for testing the nutritive value of commercial pollen mixes by comparison with queenright colonies.	the nutritive value of pollen blends purchased by bumble bee producers from beekeepers is a key factor of successful mass rearing. we have already devised a method for quality ranking of pollen diets. it was a 1-mo bioassay using queenless micro-colonies of three callow workers (bombus terrestris l.; apidae: bombinae). in the current study, we tested three pollen diets through the micro-colony method and compared the results to the development of queenright colonies supplied with the same diets. ...	2008	19133450
interspecific mating of the introduced bumblebee bombus terrestris and the native japanese bumblebee bombus hypocrita sapporoensis results in inviable hybrids.	the bumblebee bombus terrestris is not only an effective pollinator, but also a potential invasive alien species outside its native range. recently, nearly 30% of queens of the japanese native species bombus hypocrita sapporoensis and b. hypocrita hypocrita were estimated to copulate with b. terrestris males in the field, suggesting that indigenous bumblebees could be genetically deteriorated through hybrid production with the introduced species. in this study, we evaluated hybrid production bet ...	2008	18594790
seasonal activity of bombus terrestris l. in east mediterranean region, turkey.	bumblebees have economical importance in most of wild and cultivated plants. they can be abundant in suitable habitats and have a broad flower choice. bombus terrestris was collected at intervals during 2002 and 2003 from various flora and ecosystems of east mediterranean region of turkey. in this study, plants visited by bombus terrestris, seasonal activities, distribution and altitudes were determined. bombus terrestris have boon seen throughout turkey in a wide range of habitats from sea leve ...	2008	18831364
how floral odours are learned inside the bumblebee (bombus terrestris) nest.	recruitment in social insects often involves not only inducing nestmates to leave the nest, but also communicating crucial information about finding profitable food sources. although bumblebees transmit chemosensory information (floral scent), the transmission mechanism is unknown as mouth-to-mouth fluid transfer (as in honeybees) does not occur. because recruiting bumblebees release a pheromone in the nest that triggers foraging in previously inactive workers, we tested whether this pheromone h ...	2009	18949450
reproductive disturbance of japanese bumblebees by the introduced european bumblebee bombus terrestris.	the european bumblebee, bombus terrestris, is an invasive eusocial species whose distribution is expanding greatly beyond its native range because numerous colonies are imported to or locally produced in non-native countries for pollination of agricultural crops. closely related species exist in japan where the unrestricted import and use of b. terrestris has resulted in the establishment of wild colonies. laboratory studies previously showed that b. terrestris and japanese native species can co ...	2009	19089400
a laboratory evaluation to determine the compatibility of microbiological control agents with the pollinator bombus terrestris.	this study was undertaken to identify any potential adverse side effects of the use of seven microbiological control agents (mcas) on the bumblebee, bombus terrestris l., in the context of combined use in integrated pest management (ipm). aq10 (ampelomyces quisqualis), binab-t-vector (hypocrea parapilulifera + t. atroviride; 1/1), prestop-mix (gliocladium catenulatum j1446), serenade (bacillus subtilis qst713), trianum-p (trichoderma harzianum t22), botanigard (beauveria bassiana gha) and granup ...	2009	19437453
invasive bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae) parasitized by a flagellate (euglenozoa: kinetoplastea) and a neogregarine (apicomplexa: neogregarinorida).	the flagellate crithidia bombi and the neogregarine apicystis bombi have been found in individuals of bombus terrestris, a palaearctic species of bumble bee commercially reared and shipped worldwide for pollination services. b. terrestris has recently entered into the northwestern patagonia region of argentina from chile, where it was introduced in 1998. prevalence was 21.6% for c. bombi and 3.6% for a. bombi (n=111). the pathogens were not detected in 441 bumble bees belonging to five of the ei ...	2009	19682459
hydrocarbon footprints as a record of bumblebee flower visitation.	bumblebees leave traces of cuticular hydrocarbons on flowers they visit, with the amount deposited being positively related to the number of visits. we asked whether such footprint hydrocarbons are retained on flowers for sufficiently long periods of time so as to reflect bee visitation in pollination studies. in laboratory experiments, flower corollae (primula veris, digitalis grandiflora) visited by bombus terrestris workers retained bee-derived nonacosenes (c(29)h(58)) in near-unchanged quant ...	2009	20013038
reproductive competition in the bumble-bee bombus terrestris: do workers advertise sterility?	reproductive competition in social insects is generally mediated through specific fertility pheromones. by analysing dufour's gland secretion in queens and workers of bombus terrestris under varying social conditions, we demonstrate here that the volatile constituents of the secretion exhibit a context-dependent composition. the secretion of egg-laying queens is composed of a series of aliphatic hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), while that of sterile workers contains in addition octyl esters, ...	2009	19129137
no evidence for an evolutionary trade-off between learning and immunity in a social insect.	the immune response affects learning and memory in insects. given this and the known fitness costs of both the immune system and learning, does an evolutionary trade-off exist between these two systems? we tested this by measuring the learning ability of 12 bumble-bee (bombus terrestris) colonies in a free-flying paradigm. we then tested their immune response using the zone of inhibition assay. we found a positive relationship between colony learning performance and immune response, that is, fas ...	2009	18957358
geographic profiling applied to testing models of bumble-bee foraging.	geographic profiling (gp) was originally developed as a statistical tool to help police forces prioritize lists of suspects in investigations of serial crimes. gp uses the location of related crime sites to make inferences about where the offender is most likely to live, and has been extremely successful in criminology. here, we show how gp is applicable to experimental studies of animal foraging, using the bumble-bee bombus terrestris. gp techniques enable us to simplify complex patterns of spa ...	2009	18664426
visual detection of diminutive floral guides in the bumblebee bombus terrestris and in the honeybee apis mellifera.	many flowers display colour patterns comprising a large peripheral colour area that serves to attract flower visitors from some distance, and a small central, contrastingly coloured area made up by stamens or floral guides. in this study, we scaled down the size of floral guides to detect the minimal size bumblebees (bombus terrestris) and honeybees (apis mellifera) require for guidance. we analyzed the approach and the precise contact of the antennal tips with the floral guide of artificial flo ...	2009	19813017
rapid induction of immune density-dependent prophylaxis in adult social insects.	the innate immune system provides defence against parasites and pathogens. this defence comes at a cost, suggesting that immune function should exhibit plasticity in response to variation in environmental threats. density-dependent prophylaxis (ddp) has been demonstrated mostly in phase-polyphenic insects, where larval group size determines levels of immune function in either adults or later larval instars. social insects exhibit extreme sociality, but ddp has been suggested to be absent from th ...	2009	19656864
predator crypsis enhances behaviourally mediated indirect effects on plants by altering bumblebee foraging preferences.	predators of pollinators can influence pollination services and plant fitness via both consumptive (reducing pollinator density) and non-consumptive (altering pollinator behaviour) effects. however, a better knowledge of the mechanisms underlying behaviourally mediated indirect effects of predators is necessary to properly understand their role in community dynamics. we used the tripartite relationship between bumblebees, predatory crab spiders and flowers to ask whether behaviourally mediated e ...	2009	19324797
body size-related variation in pigment dispersing factor-immunoreactivity in the brain of the bumblebee bombus terrestris (hymenoptera, apidae).	large bumblebee (bombus terrestris) workers typically visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar during the day and rest in the nest at night. small workers are less likely to forage, but instead stay in the nest and tend brood around the clock. because pigment dispersing factor (pdf) has been identified as a neuromodulator in the circadian network of insects, we used an antiserum that recognizes this peptide to compare patterns of pdf-immunoreactivity (pdf-ir) in the brains of large and small w ...	2009	19232530
comparison of age-dependent quantitative changes in the male labial gland secretion of bombus terrestris and bombus lucorum.	age-related changes of antennal-active components of male labial gland extracts were studied in two closely related bumblebee species, bombus terrestris and b. lucorum. in b. terrestris, compounds eliciting electroantennogram (eag) responses of virgin queens were ethyl dodecanoate, 2,3-dihydrofarnesal, 2,3-dihydrofarnesol, hexadecan-1-ol, octadeca-9,12,15-trien-1-ol, and geranylcitronellol. compounds that elicited eag responses from queens of b. lucorum were ethyl dodecanoate, ethyl tetradec-7-e ...	2009	19543770
a comparison of hplc/apci-ms and maldi-ms for characterising triacylglycerols in insects: species-specific composition of lipids in the fat bodies of bumblebee males.	two mass spectrometric methods for analysing triacylglycerols (hplc/apci-ms and maldi-ms) were used and compared in terms of the relevance of the data for further biostatistical evaluation. while maldi-ms is simpler and significantly faster, the time-consuming and labour-intensive hplc/apci-ms provides more complete information about the lipid components. however, both methods provide well-comparable results concerning the grouping of specimens belonging to different species when evaluated with ...	2009	19819198
preferred viewing directions of bumblebees (bombus terrestris l.) when learning and approaching their nest site.	many bees and wasps learn about the immediate surroundings of their nest during learning flights, in which they look back towards the nest and acquire visual information that guides their subsequent returns. visual guidance to the nest is simplified by the insects' tendency to adopt similar viewing directions during learning and return flights. to understand better the factors determining the particular viewing directions that insects choose, we have recorded the learning and return flights of a ...	2009	19801423
novel microsatellite dna loci for bombus terrestris (linnaeus, 1758).	we present details and characteristics of 123 novel polymorphic microsatellite dna loci for bombus terrestris. thirty-four of these loci have been tested in nine other bombus species and 25 of them showed polymorphisms in at least one species. these microsatellite dna loci together with the already established 60 loci will be useful for characterizing wild and managed populations of b. terrestris and other bombus species as well as for detailed genetic studies in including mapping studies and ge ...	2009	21564905
impacts of inbreeding on bumblebee colony fitness under field conditions.	inbreeding and the loss of genetic diversity are known to be significant threats to small, isolated populations. hymenoptera represent a special case regarding the impact of inbreeding. haplodiploidy may permit purging of deleterious recessive alleles in haploid males, meaning inbreeding depression is reduced relative to diploid species. in contrast, the impact of inbreeding may be exacerbated in hymenopteran species that have a single-locus complementary sex determination system, due to the pro ...	2009	19573223
bumble-bees learn the value of social cues through experience.	natural selection should lead animals to use social cues (sc) when they are useful, and disregard them when they are not. theoretical investigation predicts that individuals should thus employ social learning 'strategies', but how might such context specificity be achieved on a proximate level? operant conditioning, whereby the use of sc is reinforced through rewarding results, provides a potential mechanism. we investigate the role of reinforcement in joining behaviour in bumble-bees, bombus te ...	2009	19324653
lifetime reproductive success and longevity of queens in an annual social insect.	although central to understanding life-history evolution, the relationship between lifetime reproductive success and longevity remains uncertain in many organisms. in social insects, no studies have reported estimates of queens' lifetime reproductive success and longevity within populations, despite the importance of understanding how sociality and associated within-group conflict affect life-history traits. to address this issue, we studied two samples of colonies of the annual bumblebee, bombu ...	2009	19298495
male flight distance and population substructure in the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	1. bumblebees are important pollinators in natural as well as agricultural ecosystems. estimates of foraging range, population size and genetic population structure so far have been based on worker samples alone. here we include both males and workers in a population genetic analysis to infer the contribution of males to these important ecological parameters. 2. the population genetic (microsatellite) analyses of bombus terrestris l. populations on the island of cabrera (spain) and halle (german ...	2009	19120605
floral iridescence, produced by diffractive optics, acts as a cue for animal pollinators.	iridescence, the change in hue of a surface with varying observation angles, is used by insects, birds, fish, and reptiles for species recognition and mate selection. we identified iridescence in flowers of hibiscus trionum and tulipa species and demonstrated that iridescence is generated through diffraction gratings that might be widespread among flowering plants. although iridescence might be expected to increase attractiveness, it might also compromise target identification because the object ...	2009	19119235
teppeki, selective insecticide about bombus terrestris.	at a time when a highly controversial debate about the causes of the widespread deaths of bees is taking place all over europe, which accused the agriculture and its practices with particular reference to the harmful effects of some insecticides, it seems important to point out as another insecticide, the teppeki, can be selective about bumble and have a good compatibility with the activity of the apiaries. this insecticide has the active ingredient flonicamid (500 g/kg) belonging to a new chemi ...	2009	20222598
circadian foraging rhythms of bumblebees monitored by radio-frequency identification.	circadian clocks enable organisms to anticipate changes of environmental conditions. in social insects, the colony as a superorganism has a foraging rhythm aligned to the diurnal patterns of resource availability. within this colony rhythm, the diurnal patterns of individuals are embedded, and various tasks within the colony are performed at different times by different individuals to best serve the colony as a whole. recent studies have shown that social cues influence the traits of the circadi ...	2010	20679495
bumblebee foraging rhythms under the midnight sun measured with radiofrequency identification.	in the permanent daylight conditions north of the arctic circle, there is a unique opportunity for bumblebee foragers to maximise intake, and therefore colony growth, by remaining active during the entire available 24-h period. we tested the foraging rhythms of bumblebee (bombus terrestris and b. pascuorum) colonies in northern finland during the summer, when the sun stays above the horizon for weeks. we used fully automatic radio-frequency identification to monitor the foraging activity of more ...	2010	20587015
applying geographic profiling used in the field of criminology for predicting the nest locations of bumble bees.	we tested whether geographic profiling (gp) can predict multiple nest locations of bumble bees. gp was originally developed in the field of criminology for predicting the area where an offender most likely resides on the basis of the actual crime sites and the predefined probability of crime interaction. the predefined probability of crime interaction in the gp model depends on the distance of a site from an offender's residence. we applied gp for predicting nest locations, assuming that foragin ...	2010	20394756
compatibility of traditional and novel acaricides with bumblebees (bombus terrestris): a first laboratory assessment of toxicity and sublethal effects.	this project assessed the potential hazards of different classical and novel acaricides against an important non-target and beneficial insect for the pollination of wild flowers and cultivated crops, the bumblebee bombus terrestris (l). twenty-three acaricides used commercially in the control of phytophagous mites (acari) were tested in greenhouses and/or the open field. side effects included acute mortality and also sublethal effects on nest reproduction. the different compounds were administer ...	2010	20309850
differences in photoreceptor processing speed for chromatic and achromatic vision in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris.	fast detection of visual change can be mediated by visual processes that ignore chromatic aspects of the visual signal, relying on inputs from a single photoreceptor class (or pooled input from similar classes). there is an established link between photoreceptor processing speed (in achromatic vision) and visual ecology. highly maneuverable flies, for example, have the fastest know photoreceptors, relying on metabolically expensive membrane conductances to boost performance. less active species ...	2010	20237260
selection of reference genes for real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis in tissues from bombus terrestris and bombus lucorum of different ages.	quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) is an accurate and sensitive technique for gene expression analysis. however, it requires data normalization using reference genes. here we assessed the stability of eight reference genes in the labial gland and fat body of the bumblebees bombus terrestris and bombus lucorum of different ages. to date, no reference genes have been identified for these species. our data show that arginine kinase (ak) and phospholipase a2 (pla2) are the most s ...	2010	19751695
[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
gas exchange patterns of bumble bee foragers before and after exposing to lowered temperature.	the gas exchange patterns are known to vary between insect species, individuals and even intra-individually. using volumetric-manometric and flow-through respirometry combined with ir-actography we studied how periods of low temperature affect the respiratory patterns of bumble bee bombus terrestris foragers. we have shown, in this study, that there is a change in the respiratory patterns of individual b. terrestris foragers after exposing to low temperatures. the bumble bees seemed to become mo ...	2010	19523957
risk assessment for side-effects of neonicotinoids against bumblebees with and without impairing foraging behavior.	bombus terrestris bumblebees are important pollinators of wild flowers, and in modern agriculture they are used to guarantee pollination of vegetables and fruits. in the field it is likely that worker bees are exposed to pesticides during foraging. to date, several tests exist to assess lethal and sublethal side-effects of pesticides on bee survival, growth/development and reproduction. within the context of ecotoxicology and insect physiology, we report the development of a new bioassay to asse ...	2010	19757031
travel optimization by foraging bumblebees through readjustments of traplines after discovery of new feeding locations.	animals collecting resources that replenish over time often visit patches in predictable sequences called traplines. despite the widespread nature of this strategy, we still know little about how spatial memory develops and guides individuals toward suitable routes. here, we investigate whether flower visitation sequences by bumblebees bombus terrestris simply reflect the order in which flowers were discovered or whether they result from more complex navigational strategies enabling bees to opti ...	2010	20973670
winter active bumblebees (bombus terrestris) achieve high foraging rates in urban britain.	foraging bumblebees are normally associated with spring and summer in northern europe. however, there have been sightings of the bumblebee bombus terrestris during the warmer winters in recent years in southern england. but what floral resources are they relying upon during winter and how much winter forage can they collect?	2010	20221445
analysis of a normalised expressed sequence tag (est) library from a key pollinator, the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	the bumblebee, bombus terrestris (order hymenoptera), is of widespread importance. this species is extensively used for commercial pollination in europe, and along with other bombus spp. is a key member of natural pollinator assemblages. furthermore, the species is studied in a wide variety of biological fields. the objective of this project was to create a b. terrestris est resource that will prove to be valuable in obtaining a deeper understanding of this significant social insect.	2010	20156341
impact of bacillus thuringiensis strains on survival, reproduction and foraging behaviour in bumblebees (bombus terrestris).	bacillus thuringiensis (bt) and its protein crystals are used worldwide, either as a spray or when expressed in transgenic crops, for the control of pest insects. however, owing to their intensive use, there exists a debate regarding the involvement of this microbial insecticide in bee colony losses. in this study, in a tiered approach using laboratory microcolonies, an evaluation was made of the potential lethal and sublethal hazards on colony reproduction and foraging behaviour of workers of t ...	2010	20024947
infection with the trypanosome crithidia bombi and expression of immune-related genes in the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	social bees and other insects are frequently parasitized by a large range of different microorganisms. among these is crithidia bombi (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae), a common gut parasite of bumblebees, bombus spp. (insecta: apidae). bumblebees are important pollinators in commercial and natural environments. there are clear detrimental effects of c. bombi infections on the fitness of bumblebees. however, little has been known about how the bee's immune system responds to infections with try ...	2010	20144650
development of a new dispenser for microbiological control agents and evaluation of dissemination by bumblebees in greenhouse strawberries.	to date, in modern agriculture, biological control strategies are increasingly becoming the preferred pest management approach. however, the success of microbiological control agents (mcas) largely depends on efficient dissemination into the crop. the pollinator-and-vector technology employs pollinating insects like bees for a better dissemination. in this study, a new dispenser for bumblebee workers of bombus terrestris l. was developed. binab-t-vector and prestop-mix were used as two typical m ...	2010	20672338
photoreceptor spectral sensitivity in the bumblebee, bombus impatiens (hymenoptera: apidae).	the bumblebee bombus impatiens is increasingly used as a model in comparative studies of colour vision, or in behavioural studies relying on perceptual discrimination of colour. however, full spectral sensitivity data on the photoreceptor inputs underlying colour vision are not available for b. impatiens. since most known bee species are trichromatic, with photoreceptor spectral sensitivity peaks in the uv, blue and green regions of the spectrum, data from a related species, where spectral sensi ...	2010	20711523
biosecurity measures to prevent the incursion of invasive alien species into japan and to mitigate their impact.	the 2004 japanese 'invasive alien species act' was enacted to control invasive alien species and prevent the damage that they cause to ecosystems. the act defines invasive alien species as those recognised as, or suspected of, causing damage to ecosystems, human safety, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. invasive alien species are carefully regulated: raising, planting, keeping or transporting them is prohibited without the express permission of the relevant minister. the act represents a revo ...	2010	20919584
a quantitative in vitro cultivation technique to determine cell number and growth rates in strains of crithidia bombi (trypanosomatidae), a parasite of bumblebees.	the protozoan parasite crithidia bombi and its host, the bumblebee bombus terrestris, are used as a model system for the study of the evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions. in order to study these interactions we established a method for in vitro cultivation of single parasite strains. additionally, a high-throughput method is developed for the determination of cell numbers in cultures by means of optical density (od) measurements. the protocol for in vitro cultivation allowed for g ...	2010	21129082
genetic exchange and emergence of novel strains in directly transmitted trypanosomatids.	the breeding structure of protozoan infections, i.e. whether and how frequently parasites exchange genes ("sexual reproduction"), is a crucially important parameter for many important questions; it also matters for how new virulent strains might emerge. whether protozoan parasites are clonal or sexual is therefore a hotly debated issue. for trypanosomatids, few experimental tests of breeding structure exist to date and are limited to the vector-borne human diseases trypanosoma brucei, trypanosom ...	2011	21252000
bombus terrestris as pollinator-and-vector to suppress botrytis cinerea in greenhouse strawberry.	background: bombus terrestris l. bumblebees are widely used as commercial pollinators, but they might also be of help in the battle against economically important crop diseases. this alternative control strategy is referred to as pollinator-and-vector technology. the present study was designed to investigate the capacity of b. terrestris to fulfil this role in greenhouse strawberry flowers, which were manually inoculated with a major plant pathogen, the grey mould botrytis cinerea pers.: fr. a m ...	2011	21394887
dynamics of immune system gene expression upon bacterial challenge and wounding in a social insect (bombus terrestris).	the innate immune system which helps individuals to combat pathogens comprises a set of genes representing four immune system pathways (toll, imd, jnk and jak/stat). there is a lack of immune genes in social insects (e.g. honeybees) when compared to diptera. potentially, this might be compensated by an advanced system of social immunity (synergistic action of several individuals). the bumble bee, bombus terrestris, is a primitively eusocial species with an annual life cycle and colonies headed b ...	2011	21479237
maternity-related plasticity in circadian rhythms of bumble-bee queens.	unlike most animals studied so far in which the activity with no circadian rhythms is pathological or linked to deteriorating performance, worker bees and ants naturally care for their sibling brood around the clock with no apparent ill effects. here, we tested whether bumble-bee queens that care alone for their first batch of offspring are also capable of a similar chronobiological plasticity. we monitored locomotor activity of bombus terrestris queens at various life cycle stages, and queens f ...	2011	21508036
pathways to immunity: temporal dynamics of the bumblebee (bombus terrestris) immune response against a trypanosomal gut parasite.	immune response dynamics in insects from natural host-parasite associations are poorly understood, despite accumulating evidence of ecological immune phenomena in these systems. using a gene discovery approach, we have identified genes relating to signalling, enzymatic processes and respiration that were up-regulated in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, during infection with the trypanosomatid parasite, crithidia bombi. in addition, we have mapped dynamic changes in the temporal expression of th ...	2011	21615578
food-environment mediates the outcome of specific interactions between a bumblebee and its trypanosome parasite.	specific host-parasite interactions, where the outcome of exposure to a parasite depends upon the genotypic identity of both parties, have implications for understanding host-parasite coevolution and patterns of genetic diversity. thus, grasping the extent to which these interactions are mediated by environmental changes in a spatially and temporally heterogeneous world is vital. in this study, it is shown that the environment can influence specific host-parasite interactions in the well-studied ...	2011	21967438
photoreceptor processing speed and input resistance changes during light adaptation correlate with spectral class in the bumblebee, bombus impatiens.	colour vision depends on comparison of signals from photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities. however, response properties of photoreceptor cells may differ in ways other than spectral tuning. in insects, for example, broadband photoreceptors, with a major sensitivity peak in the green region of the spectrum (>500 nm), drive fast visual processes, which are largely blind to chromatic signals from more narrowly-tuned photoreceptors with peak sensitivities in the blue and uv regions of ...	2011	22046251
recognition and avoidance of contaminated flowers by foraging bumblebees (bombus terrestris).	bumblebee colonies are founded by a single-mated queen. due to this life history trait, bumblebees are more susceptible to parasites and diseases than polyandrous and/or polygynous social insects. a greater resistance towards parasites is shown when the genetic variability within a colony is increased. the parasite resistance may be divided into different levels regarding the step of the parasite infection (e.g. parasite uptake, parasite intake, parasite's establishment in the nest, parasite tra ...	2011	22039462
comparative analysis of detection limits and specificity of molecular diagnostic markers for three pathogens (microsporidia, nosema spp.) in the key pollinators apis mellifera and bombus terrestris.	global pollinator decline has recently been discussed in the context of honey and bumble bee infections from various pathogens including viruses, bacteria, microsporidia and mites. the microsporidian pathogens nosema apis, nosema ceranae and nosema bombi may in fact be major candidates contributing to this decline. different molecular and non-molecular detection methods have been developed; however, a comparison, especially of the highly sensitive pcr based methods, is currently lacking. here, w ...	2011	21927870
polyphenism in social insects: insights from a transcriptome-wide analysis of gene expression in the life stages of the key pollinator, bombus terrestris.	understanding polyphenism, the ability of a single genome to express multiple morphologically and behaviourally distinct phenotypes, is an important goal for evolutionary and developmental biology. polyphenism has been key to the evolution of the hymenoptera, and particularly the social hymenoptera where the genome of a single species regulates distinct larval stages, sexual dimorphism and physical castes within the female sex. transcriptomic analyses of social hymenoptera will therefore provide ...	2011	22185240
apicystis bombi (apicomplexa: neogregarinorida) parasitizing apis mellifera and bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae) in argentina.	the neogregarine apicystis bombi is considered a low prevalence parasite of bombus spp. before our work it has only once been detected in one single specimen of the western honeybee apis mellifera. this contribution reports the presence of a. bombi parasitizing both a. mellifera and bombus terrestris at a site in northwestern argentine patagonia (bariloche, close to the border with chile) and analyses its possible absence in the pampas region, the most important beekeeping region of the country. ...	2011	23761336
profile of the mosaic element btmr1 in the genome of the bumble bee bombus terrestris (hymenoptera: apidae).	co-evolution involving a mariner transposon, botmar1 and the other repeats contained in the bombus terrestris genome was investigated. we found that the 5'-region of botmar1 forms one of the components of a mosaic element, known as b. terrestris mosaic repeat 1 (btmr1), which is also composed of inner segments originating from two different retrotransposons and a pseudogene corresponding to an rna methyltransferase cdna. the fact that btmr1 is interspersed within chromosomes and the differences ...	2011	20958807
fibrin(ogen)olytic activity of bumblebee venom serine protease.	bee venom is a rich source of pharmacologically active components; it has been used as an immunotherapy to treat bee venom hypersensitivity, and venom therapy has been applied as an alternative medicine. here, we present evidence that the serine protease found in bumblebee venom exhibits fibrin(ogen)olytic activity. compared to honeybee venom, bumblebee venom contains a higher content of serine protease, which is one of its major components. venom serine proteases from bumblebees did not cross-r ...	2011	21763709
lateralization in the invertebrate brain: left-right asymmetry of olfaction in bumble bee, bombus terrestris.	brain and behavioural lateralization at the population level has been recently hypothesized to have evolved under social selective pressures as a strategy to optimize coordination among asymmetrical individuals. evidence for this hypothesis have been collected in hymenoptera: eusocial honey bees showed olfactory lateralization at the population level, whereas solitary mason bees only showed individual-level olfactory lateralization. here we investigated lateralization of odour detection and lear ...	2011	21556150
impacts of the use of nonnative commercial bumble bees for pollinator supplementation in raspberry.	evidence for pollinator declines has led to concern that inadequate pollination services may limit crop yields. the global trade in commercial bumble bee (bombus spp.) colonies provides pollination services for both glasshouse and open-field crops. for example, in the united kingdom, commercial colonies of nonnative subspecies of the bumble bee bombus terrestris l. imported from mainland europe are widely used for the pollination of raspberries, rubus idaeus l. the extent to which these commerci ...	2011	21404847
nocturnal insects use optic flow for flight control.	to avoid collisions when navigating through cluttered environments, flying insects must control their flight so that their sensory systems have time to detect obstacles and avoid them. to do this, day-active insects rely primarily on the pattern of apparent motion generated on the retina during flight (optic flow). however, many flying insects are active at night, when obtaining reliable visual information for flight control presents much more of a challenge. to assess whether nocturnal flying i ...	2011	21307047
a second generation genetic map of the bumblebee bombus terrestris (linnaeus, 1758) reveals slow genome and chromosome evolution in the apidae.	the bumblebee bombus terrestris is an ecologically and economically important pollinator and has become an important biological model system. to study fundamental evolutionary questions at the genomic level, a high resolution genetic linkage map is an essential tool for analyses ranging from quantitative trait loci (qtl) mapping to genome assembly and comparative genomics. we here present a saturated linkage map and match it with the apis mellifera genome using homologous markers. this genome-wi ...	2011	21247459
dna modifications and genome rearrangements during the development and sex differentiation of the bumble bee bombus terrestris.	bombus terrestris is a bumble bee that, like most hymenopteran species, exhibits ploidy-specific sex determination controlled by a single sex gene. depending on their ploidy and the queen pheromone repression, the imagoes differentiate into three castes: males, workers and queens. here, we focus on the differences of genome organization that occur during development and sex differentiation. we found that cytosine methylation is a significant epigenetic factor with profiles that can be correlated ...	2011	20977508
reconstructing demographic events from population genetic data: the introduction of bumblebees to new zealand.	four british bumblebee species (bombus terrestris, bombus hortorum, bombus ruderatus and bombus subterraneus) became established in new zealand following their introduction at the turn of the last century. of these, two remain common in the united kingdom (b. terrestris and b. hortorum), whilst two (b. ruderatus and b. subterraneus) have undergone marked declines, the latter being declared extinct in 2000. the presence of these bumblebees in new zealand provides an unique system in which four re ...	2011	21645159
space use of bumblebees (bombus spp.) revealed by radio-tracking.	accurate estimates of movement behavior and distances travelled by animals are difficult to obtain, especially for small-bodied insects where transmitter weights have prevented the use of radio-tracking.	2011	21603569
lethal and sublethal side-effect assessment supports a more benign profile of spinetoram compared with spinosad in the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	this study was undertaken to identify the potential side effects of the novel naturalyte insecticide spinetoram in comparison with spinosad on the bumblebee bombus terrestris l. the potential lethal effects together with the ecologically relevant sublethal effects on aspects of bumblebee reproduction and foraging behaviour were evaluated. bumblebee workers were exposed via direct contact with wet and dry residues under laboratory conditions to spinetoram at different concentrations, starting fro ...	2011	21472971
the effect of group size on the interplay between dominance and reproduction in bombus terrestris.	social insects provide good model systems for testing trade-offs in decision-making because of their marked reproductive skew and the dilemma workers face when to reproduce. attaining reproductive skew requires energy investment in aggression or fertility signaling, creating a trade-off between reproduction and dominance. this may be density-dependent because the cost of achieving dominance may be higher in larger groups. we investigated the effect of group-size in b. terrestris queenless worker ...	2011	21464893
conspecifics as informers and competitors: an experimental study in foraging bumble-bees.	conspecifics are usually considered competitors negatively affecting food intake rates. however, their presence can also inform about resource quality by providing inadvertent social information. few studies have investigated whether foragers perceive conspecifics as informers or competitors. here, we experimentally tested whether variation in the density of demonstrators ('none', 'low' and 'high'), whose location indicated flower profitability, affected decision-making of bumble-bees bombus ter ...	2011	21288951
impact of a perfluorinated organic compound pfos on the terrestrial pollinator bombus terrestris (insecta, hymenoptera).	perfluorinated organic chemicals like perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (pfos) are persistent environmental pollutants that have been measured in a great diversity of wildlife worldwide, especially in the aquatic compartment. however, little information is available on the presence and effects of pfos in the terrestrial compartment. therefore, we investigated in this project the risks for effects, bioaccumulation and potential mechanisms of activity of pfos in the bumblebee bombus terrestris l. (hym ...	2011	21253836
age- and task-dependent foraging gene expression in the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	in eusocial insects, the division of labor within a colony, based on either age or size, is correlated with a differential foraging (for) gene expression and pkg activity. this article presents in the first part a study on the for gene, encoding a cgmp-dependent protein kinase (pkg) in the bumblebee bombus terrestris. cloning of the open reading frame allowed phylogenetic tracing, which showed conservation of pkgs among social insects. our results confirm the proposed role for pkgs in division o ...	2011	21136525
trade-off between travel distance and prioritization of high-reward sites in traplining bumblebees.	1.animals exploiting renewable resource patches are faced with complex multi-location routing problems. in many species, individuals visit foraging patches in predictable sequences called traplines. however, whether and how they optimize their routes remains poorly understood.2.in this study, we demonstrate that traplining bumblebees (bombus terrestris) make a trade-off between minimizing travel distance and prioritizing the most rewarding feeding locations.3.individual bees trained to forage on ...	2011	22267886
changes in the composition of triacylglycerols in the fat bodies of bumblebee males during their lifetime.	the age-dependent changes in the composition of triacylglycerols (tag) in the fat bodies of bumblebee males were studied using hplc/ms. two related species (bombus terrestris and b. lucorum) were compared, with the age of the males being 0-30 days. the total amount of tag in b. lucorum was about 2.7 times higher than that in b. terrestris for all of the ages studied. one to three-day-old males had the highest content of tag in their fat bodies (1.6-2.3 mg/individual in b. terrestris and 3.8-4.2 ...	2011	21720931
assessment of side-effects by ludox tma silica nanoparticles following a dietary exposure on the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	we assessed lethal and sublethal side-effects of ludox tma silica nanoparticles on a terrestrial pollinator, bombus terrestris (linnaeus), via a dietary exposure. dynamic light scattering analysis confirmed that silica ludox tma nanoparticles remained in suspension in the drinking sugar water. exposure of bumblebee microcolonies during 7 weeks to the different nanoparticle concentrations (high: 34, 170 and 340 mg/l and low: 34 and 340 μg/l) did not cause worker mortality compared to the controls ...	2012	21675822
neither protogynous nor obligatory out-crossed: pollination biology and breeding system of the european red list fritillaria meleagris l. (liliaceae).	for 4 years we studied pollination biology and breeding system of the critically endangered, red list plant fritillaria meleagris l. (liliaceae), in the larger of the two remaining populations of the plant in se poland. our observations indicated that, contrary to literature data, the species is not dichogamous nor is it obligatorily out-crossing. selfing, although rare in natural populations, results in fully developed seeds. flowers are visited by several insect species, mostly social and soli ...	2012	21972995
bees do not use nearest-neighbour rules for optimization of multi-location routes.	animals collecting patchily distributed resources are faced with complex multi-location routing problems. rather than comparing all possible routes, they often find reasonably short solutions by simply moving to the nearest unvisited resources when foraging. here, we report the travel optimization performance of bumble-bees (bombus terrestris) foraging in a flight cage containing six artificial flowers arranged such that movements between nearest-neighbour locations would lead to a long suboptim ...	2012	21849311
reproductive conflict in bumblebees and the evolution of worker policing.	worker policing (mutual repression of reproduction) in the eusocial hymenoptera represents a leading example of how coercion can facilitate cooperation. the occurrence of worker policing in "primitively" eusocial species with low mating frequencies, which lack relatedness differences conducive to policing, suggests that separate factors may underlie the origin and maintenance of worker policing. we tested this hypothesis by investigating conflict over male parentage in the primitively eusocial, ...	2012	23206135
leg tendon glands in male bumblebees (bombus terrestris): structure, secretion chemistry, and possible functions.	among the large number of exocrine glands described in bees, the tarsal glands were thought to be the source of footprint scent marks. however, recent studies showed that the compounds used for marking by stingless bees are secreted by leg tendon instead of tarsal glands. here, we report on the structure of leg tendon glands in males of bombus terrestris, together with a description of the chemical composition of their secretions and respective changes of both during the males' lives. the ultras ...	2012	23111660
the ant genomes have been invaded by several types of mariner transposable elements.	to date, only three types of full-length mariner elements have been described in ants, each one in a different genus of the myrmicinae subfamily: sinvmar was isolated from various solenopsis species, myrmar from myrmica ruginodis, and mboumar from messor bouvieri. in this study, we report the coexistence of three mariner elements (tnigmar-si, tnigmar-mr, and tnigmar-mb) in the genome of a single species, tapinoma nigerrimum (subfamily dolichoderinae). molecular evolutionary analyses of the nucle ...	2012	23097152
no trade-off between learning speed and associative flexibility in bumblebees: a reversal learning test with multiple colonies.	potential trade-offs between learning speed and memory-related performance could be important factors in the evolution of learning. here, we test whether rapid learning interferes with the acquisition of new information using a reversal learning paradigm. bumblebees (bombus terrestris) were trained to associate yellow with a floral reward. subsequently the association between colour and reward was reversed, meaning bees then had to learn to visit blue flowers. we demonstrate that individuals tha ...	2012	23028779
potential increase in mating frequency of queens in feral colonies of bombus terrestris introduced into japan.	with the exception of several species, bumblebees are monandrous. we examined mating frequency in feral colonies of the introduced bumblebee bombus terrestris in japan. using microsatellite markers, genotyping of sperm dna stored in the spermatheca of nine queens detected multiple insemination paternities in one queen; the others were singly mated. the average effective paternity frequency estimated from the genotypes of queens and workers was 1.23; that estimated from the workers' genotype alon ...	2012	22976124