Diet and nutritional status during early adult life have immediate and persistent effects on queen bumble bees.

ABSTRACT: Many insects sequester nutrients during developmentally programmed periods, which they metabolize during subsequent life history stages. During these periods, failure to store adequate nutrients can have persistent effects on fitness. Here, we examined a critical but under-studied nutrient storage period in queen bumble bees: the first days of adult life, which are followed by a diapause period typically coinciding with winter. We experimentally manipulated availability of pollen (the primary dietary source of lipids and protein) and the sugar concentration of artificial nectar (the primary source of carbohydrates) for laboratory-reared queens during this period and examined three nutritional phenomena: (i) diet impacts on nutritional status, (ii) the timescale upon which nutrient sequestr

SUBMITTER: Woodard SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6694593 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature