Optimizing Laboratory Rearing of a Key Pollinator, Bombus impatiens

Abstract

Bumble bees are key pollinators for wild and managed plants and serve as a model system in various research fields, largely due to their commercial availability. Despite their extensive use, laboratory rearing of bumble bees is often challenging, particularly during the solitary phase queens undergo before founding a colony. Using a literature survey, we demonstrate that most studies rely on commercially available species that are provided during the colony’s social phase, limiting study on early phases of the life cycle and the ability to control for colony age and relatedness. Laboratory rearing is challenging since the queen solitary phase is less understood compared to the social phase. To overcome this barrier, we examined several aspects related to the queen solitary phase: the effect of age on likelihood of mating, how the timing of CO2 narcosis post-mating (a technique to bypass diapause) affects egg-laying, and whether different social cues affect the success of colony initiation. Our data show an optimum age for mating in both sexuals and decreased egg-laying latency in the presence of workers and pupae. The timing of CO2 narcosis did not significantly affect egg laying in queens. These findings can be incorporated to improve bumble bee rearing for research purposes.

Captive Rearing Success and Critical Thermal Maxima ofBombus griseocollis(Hymenoptera: Apidae): A Candidate for Commercialization?

“…Mating of bumble bees in controlled laboratory settings is both challenging and necessary to establish year-round production of reproductive drones and gynes. Therefore, management strategies for captive rearing conditions need to be obtained, including information on optimal age for mating, mating behavior, number of preferred mates, mating duration, inbreeding, and environmental conditions ( Tasei et al 1997 , Sauter and Brown 2001 , Brown and Baer 2005 , Treanore et al 2021 ). The duration of gyne diapause also needs to be determined along with establishing optimal diapause conditions for captive rearing.…”

Use of Osmia bicornis L. for Pollination of Cyclamen persicum Mill. Cultivated in Greenhouse Environment During Winter Period

“…Currently in temperate climates in Europe, bumblebee colonies are the only available managed pollinator during winter periods (Velthuis & Van Doorn, 2006). However, colonies require initiation and rearing in the laboratory, and this process takes about ten weeks (Treanore et al, 2021). Our experiment shows the possibility of activating O. bicornis adults early in October, with appropriate vitality and pollination activity that can be utilized for successful pollination of commercial greenhouse C. persicum plantations.…”

Impacts and mechanisms of CO2 narcosis in bumble bees: Narcosis depends on dose, caste and mating status and is not induced by anoxia

“…If queens did not mate, a similar attempt was conducted daily until a successful mating was observed or the queen reached the age of 11 days. This range was chosen based on the optimal age for mating found in our previous study (40). The arena was checked every 15 minutes to observe for mating pairs and pairs were removed while mating and placed back into an individual cage.…”