Growth rate of bumblebee larvae is related to pollen amino acids

The use of Bombus terrestris L. commercial colonies for outdoor and greenhouse crop pollination is currently widespread. Colony breeding includes bumblebee feeding, mostly by using the honeybee pollen loads of diverse palynological composition. Because the chemical content of pollen is highly variable, the choice of commercial blend should not be random but has to be carefully selected to ensure the optimal development of workers and then pollination efficacy. In this work, we compared the impact of three common commercial blends on the development of bumblebee microcolonies, namely, Actinidia deliciosa L., Cistus sp., and Salix sp. We focus on amino acids (i.e., composition and amount), as they are currently used as an indicator of diet performance. Five parameters were used to determine microcolonies growth rate: 1) number of eggs, 2) number of alive larvae, 3) number of ejected larvae, 4) number of pupae, and 5) total number of offspring. Syrup collection was also monitored to estimate energetic requirement for colony growth. Results revealed that the three commercial blends chemically differed in their amino acid contents, with those displaying higher concentrations (i.e., Salix sp. and A. deliciosa) accelerating microcolony development along with an increase of syrup collection. The advantages of rearing bumblebee commercial colonies using a pollen diet with an optimal amino acid content are discussed. © The Authors 2015.