Pollen as Bee Medicine: Is Prevention Better than Cure?

ABSTRACT: To face environmental stressors such as infection, animals may display behavioural plasticity to improve their physiological status through ingestion of specific food. In bees, the significance of medicating pollen may be limited by their ability to exploit it. Until now, studies have focused on the medicinal effects of pollen and nectar after forced-feeding experiments, overlooking spontaneous intake. Here, we explored the medicinal effects of different pollen on Bombus terrestris workers infected by the gut parasite Crithidia bombi. First, we used a forced-feeding experimental design allowing for the distinction between prophylactic and therapeutic effects of pollen, considering host tolerance and resistance. Then, we assessed whether bumble bees favoured medicating resourc

SUBMITTER: Vanderplanck M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10135463 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature