Young bumblebees may rely on both direct pollen cues and early experience when foraging.

ABSTRACT: An adequate supply of macro- and micronutrients determines health and reproductive success in most animals. Many bee species, for example, collect nectar and pollen to satisfy their demands for carbohydrates, protein and fat, respectively. Bees can assess the quality of pollen by feeding on it, but also pre-digestively by means of chemotactile assessment. Whether they additionally use larval nutritional experience, as has been shown for Drosophila melanogaster and Bombyx mori, is unknown. In this study, we tested whether pollen selection of bumblebee foragers is affected by nutritional experience (acquired before the onset of foraging) or solely by food quality. Bumblebee larvae were fed with one out of three different pollen blends. As adults, they were offered all three ble

SUBMITTER: Ruedenauer FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7482259 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature