The same, but different: pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies

Leonhardt, Sara D.; Blüthgen, Nico

doi:10.1007/s13592-011-0112-y

Cited by 199 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In the field, we observed bees antennating pollen, potentially assessing its quality. Bumble bees appear to determine pollen quality by its protein content through tactile chemoreceptors and show preferences for high-protein pollen (26,52), whereas honey bees do not appear to share the same preference (25,29,30). Although both species may be sensitive to protein quality, the preferences observed in previous studies may reflect species-specific differences in nutritional requirements for protein and lipids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…While foraging in the same landscape, bumble bees foraged preferentially on plant species with higher protein content than did honey bees (25), suggesting species-specific differences in protein acquisition. Bumble bee workers can taste and discriminate among diets with different protein or pollen concentrations (26), and their foraging activity has been positively correlated with pollen protein content using modified (diluted with cellulose powder) single-source pollen diets (27,28) or a single plant species in which pollen protein content varied with soil conditions (20).…”

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confidence: 95%

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Macronutrient ratios in pollen shape bumble bee ( Bombus impatiens ) foraging strategies and floral preferences

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Mortensen

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

313

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To fuel their activities and rear their offspring, foraging bees must obtain a sufficient quality and quantity of nutritional resources from a diverse plant community. Pollen is the primary source of proteins and lipids for bees, and the concentrations of these nutrients in pollen can vary widely among host-plant species. Therefore we hypothesized that foraging decisions of bumble bees are driven by both the protein and lipid content of pollen. By successively reducing environmental and floral cues, we analyzed pollen-foraging preferences of Bombus impatiens in (i) host-plant species, (ii) pollen isolated from these hostplant species, and (iii) nutritionally modified single-source pollen diets encompassing a range of protein and lipid concentrations. In our semifield experiments, B. impatiens foragers exponentially increased their foraging rates of pollen from plant species with high protein: lipid (P:L) ratios; the most preferred plant species had the highest ratio (∼4.6:1). These preferences were confirmed in cage studies where, in pairwise comparisons in the absence of other floral cues, B. impatiens workers still preferred pollen with higher P:L ratios. Finally, when presented with nutritionally modified pollen, workers were most attracted to pollen with P:L ratios of 5:1 and 10:1, but increasing the protein or lipid concentration (while leaving ratios intact) reduced attraction. Thus, macronutritional ratios appear to be a primary factor driving bee pollen-foraging behavior and may explain observed patterns of host-plant visitation across the landscape. The nutritional quality of pollen resources should be taken into consideration when designing conservation habitats supporting bee populations.foraging behavior | nutritional ecology | pollen | pollinator | preferences F oraging animals must obtain appropriate nutrients for growth, development, and reproduction from their environments. Bees forage in a very complex and changing environment, where floral nutritional resources (nectar and pollen) vary widely in quality and quantity among plant species (1). These resources are accompanied by myriad floral cues, including floral odors, color, morphology, and display area, and can vary dramatically in spatiotemporal availability; all these factors may influence and reinforce foraging decisions (2, 3). Worldwide declines in populations of bees and other pollinators have been linked to reduced diversity and abundance of host-plant species, likely placing bees under nutritional stress (4, 5). To develop strategic conservation protocols that preserve or restore foraging habitat that supports healthy pollinator populations, we must understand how bees forage in their environments to meet their nutritional needs. It is well established that solitary and social insects can forage selectively and regulate their intake of synthetic diets spanning a range of macronutrient nutritional qualities to reach their optimal, species-specific nutritional intake (6-8). Here we examine whether the generalist bumble bee species Bombus...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

mentioning

confidence: 95%

Macronutrient ratios in pollen shape bumble bee ( Bombus impatiens ) foraging strategies and floral preferences

Vaudo

Patch

Mortensen

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

313

302

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“…A potential explanation for their importance may be that Fabaceae pollen is richer in protein compared to pollen of other plant families, as suggested by Goulson et al (2005) and Hanley et al (2008). The differential importance of different plant families/species can thus likely be explained by differences in the plants' nectar or pollen quality, as bumble bees appear to require pollen of high protein content (Leonhardt and Blüthgen 2012), which was found to increase their survival and immunocompetence (Genissel et al 2002;Tasei and Aupinel 2008;Brunner et al 2014). Interestingly, most of the plants visited by bumble bees in this study were native plants, such as T. repens , R. fruticosus , or L. corniculatus (Table SII).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity and composition compensate for negative effects of urbanization on foraging bumble bees

et al. 2015

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-Bumble bees play an important role as pollinators of many crop plants and wild flowers. As in many wild bees, their abundance and diversity have declined in recent years, which may threaten the stability of pollination services. The observed decline is often linked with the loss or alteration of natural habitat, e.g., through urbanization, the conversion of natural habitat into largely sealed areas (concrete) inhabited by humans. The effects of urbanization on bumble bees remain as yet controversial with both positive and negative effects reported. We investigated how habitat isolation through increasing areas of concrete, as well as the diversity, abundance, and community composition of floral resources, determine bumble bee abundance and diversity in cities. We found plant species diversity and abundance to be more important than the amount of concrete in driving the abundance and species richness of common bumble bees in a German city. Moreover, plant species composition, i.e., the presence of specific plant species and families (e.g., Fabaceae), played a prominent role. In particular, flower-rich parks and gardens can offer a continuous food supply for bumble bees and attract bumble bee foragers even to isolated patches in the city center.bee decline / habitat fragmentation / Hymenoptera / pollination / urban landscape

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“…To identify plant sources of pollen loads obtained from bumblebees and to analyze the degree of floral specialization of different species, we prepared permanent glycerine-gelatin microscope slides for overall 39 pollen loads following the protocol as described in Leonhardt and Blüthgen (2012).…”

Section: Palynological Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Different but the same: bumblebee species collect pollen of different plant sources but similar amino acid profiles

2016

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-Access to abundant and diverse floral plant sources is essential for generalist bees as they obtain all energy and nutrients required from pollen and nectar. Despite their importance, we still know little about the precise nutritional requirements of most bee species. Here, we investigated differences in floral and amino acid profiles of pollen collected by five bumblebee species in southern Germany, which had access to the same spectrum of plant species and thus sources of nutrition. We found that different bumblebee species visited different floral spectra for pollen collection but nevertheless had highly similar pollen amino acid profiles. This finding suggests that common bumblebee species only slightly differ in their nutritional target for amino acids in pollen. In fact, floral and chemical composition of pollen loads appear to be largely determined by the plant community present at a site as bumblebees attempt to maximize site-specific nutrient collection efficiency.bee foraging / insect nutrition / plant-insect interactions / pollen chemistry / resource use

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The same, but different: pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies

Cited by 199 publications

References 57 publications

Macronutrient ratios in pollen shape bumble bee ( Bombus impatiens ) foraging strategies and floral preferences

Macronutrient ratios in pollen shape bumble bee ( Bombus impatiens ) foraging strategies and floral preferences

Plant diversity and composition compensate for negative effects of urbanization on foraging bumble bees

Different but the same: bumblebee species collect pollen of different plant sources but similar amino acid profiles

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