Bombus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Microcolonies as a Tool for Biological Understanding and Pesticide Risk Assessment.

ABSTRACT: Bumble bees provide valuable pollination services to many wild and agricultural plants. Populations of some bumble bee species are in decline, prompting the need to better understand bumble bee biology and to develop methodologies for assessing the effects of environmental stressors on these bees. Use of bumble bee microcolonies as an experimental tool is steadily increasing. This review closely examines the microcolony model using peer-reviewed published literature identified by searching three databases through November 2018. Microcolonies have been successfully used for investigating a range of endpoints including behavior, the gut microbiome, nutrition, development, pathogens, chemical biology, and pesticides/xenobiotics. Methods for the initiation and monitoring of microcolonies, as w

SUBMITTER: Klinger EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9206168 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature