Ambient Air Temperature Does Not Predict whether Small or Large Workers Forage in Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens).

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dc.contributor.authorCouvillon, Margaret J.en
dc.contributor.authorFitzpatrick, Ginnyen
dc.contributor.authorDornhaus, Annaen
dc.contributor.departmentEntomologyen
dc.coverage.countryUnited Statesen
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-11T14:09:56Zen
dc.date.available2018-01-11T14:09:56Zen
dc.date.issued2010en
dc.description.abstractBumble bees are important pollinators of crops and other plants. However, many aspects of their basic biology remain relatively unexplored. For example, one important and unusual natural history feature in bumble bees is the massive size variation seen between workers of the same nest. This size polymorphism may be an adaptation for division of labor, colony economics, or be nonadaptive. It was also suggested that perhaps this variation allows for niche specialization in workers foraging at different temperatures: larger bees might be better suited to forage at cooler temperatures and smaller bees might be better suited to forage at warmer temperatures. This we tested here using a large, enclosed growth chamber, where we were able to regulate the ambient temperature. We found no significant effect of ambient or nest temperature on the average size of bees flying to and foraging from a suspended feeder. Instead, bees of all sizes successfully flew and foraged between 16°C and 36°C. Thus, large bees foraged even at very hot temperatures, which we thought might cause overheating. Size variation therefore could not be explained in terms of niche specialization for foragers at different temperatures.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1155/2010/536430en
dc.identifier.issn0033-2615en
dc.identifier.orcidCouvillon, MJ [0000-0002-0458-298X]en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/81708en
dc.identifier.volume2010en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.relation.urihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26005222en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.titleAmbient Air Temperature Does Not Predict whether Small or Large Workers Forage in Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens).en
dc.title.serialPsyche (Camb Mass)en
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciencesen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/CALS T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Agriculture & Life Sciences/Entomologyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen

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