[en] 1. Bumblebees are valuable pollinators of numerous wild and cultivated
plants. They can forage on variable pollen resources. As some pollen species
lack particular nutrients or have global low nutritional quality, it has been
suggested that bumblebees mix their pollen incomes to ensure a global balanced
diet. The hypothesis that a mixed pollen diet better supports bumblebee colony
development than a single pollen diet has been poorly explored.
2. We compared the impact of mono-, di- and trifloral diets on microcolony
development of Bombus terrestris using three pollen resources with different
nutrient contents (Cytisus scoparius, Erica sp. and Sorbus aucuparia) as well as
their mixes. Nine parameters (e.g. pollen efficacy: total weight of larvae/total
weight of pollen collection) were used to compare the microcolony performances.
Moreover, we measured the influence of the pollen diversity and nutritional
composition on relevant parameters.
3. We showed that microcolonies can potentially better develop on mixed
pollen diets, but single pollen diet can also be as good as mixed pollen diet.
Moreover, the sterol concentration appeared as a key factor to establish the
impact of a pollen diet on the bumblebee colony development.
4. This study reveals that diverse pollen diet does not necessary equate with
good colony development and supports the importance of selecting floral
resources by considering their nutrient contents for bee conservation management.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology Entomology & pest control Biochemistry, biophysics & molecular biology
Author, co-author :
Moerman, Romain; Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles ; Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons
Vanderplanck, Maryse ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Research Institute for Biosciences > Laboratory of Zoology
Fournier, Denis; Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Jacquemart, Anne-Laure; Earth and Life Institute, Catholic University of Louvain
Michez, Denis; Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons
Language :
English
Title :
Pollen nutrients better explain bumblebee colony development than pollen diversity
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