Landscape composition and local floral resources influence foraging behavior but not the size of Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers.

ABSTRACT: Bumble bee communities are strongly disrupted worldwide through the population decline of many species; a phenomenon that has been generally attributed to landscape modification, pesticide use, pathogens, and climate change. The mechanisms by which these causes act on bumble bee colonies are, however, likely to be complex and to involve many levels of organization spanning from the community down to the least understood individual level. Here, we assessed how the morphology, weight and foraging behavior of individual workers are affected by their surrounding landscape. We hypothesized that colonies established in landscapes showing high cover of intensive crops and low cover of flowering crops, as well as low amounts of local floral resources, would produce smaller workers, which would per

SUBMITTER: Gervais A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7316238 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature