Social Regulation of Maternal Traits in Nest-Founding Bumble Bee (Bombus terrestris) Queens

ABSTRACT: During the nest-founding phase of the bumble bee colony cycle, queens undergo striking changes in maternal care behavior. Early in the founding phase, prior to the emergence of workers in the nest, queens are reproductive and also provision and feed their offspring. However, later in the founding phase, queens cease feeding offspring and become specialized on reproduction. This transition is synchronized with the emergence of workers in the colony, who assume the task of feeding their siblings. Using a social manipulation experiment, we tested the hypothesis that workers socially regulate the transition from feeding brood to specialization on reproduction in nest-founding bumble bee queens. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that early-stage queens with workers prematurely added to

ORGANISM(S): Bombus terrestris

SUBMITTER: Hollis Woodard 

PROVIDER: E-MTAB-1855 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress