The same, but different: Pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies

Sara Leonhardt; N Bluthgen

doi:10.1007/s13592-011-0112-y

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The same, but different: Pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The same, but different: Pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies

Sara Leonhardt and N Bluthgen

Apidologie, Vol.43(4), pp.449-464

2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-011-0112-y

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Abstract

Zoology

generalist pollinators

amino acids

floral resources

Like many other bees worldwide, honeybees and bumblebees are threatened by human-induced disturbances. Yet some species decline and others thrive, likely due to different foraging strategies. As little is known about how resource intake translates into nutrients available to colonies, our study aimed to better understand how differences in foraging strategies may affect colony health by relating differences in pollen spectra collected to differences in nutrient composition. The Apis and Bombus colonies studied were all located at the same site, but nevertheless differed in the spectra of plant species visited for pollen collection and the quality of pollen collected. Bumblebees generally collected pollen with significantly higher pollen protein content and more essential amino acids. Unlike honeybees that tend to exploit large resource patches, bumblebees thus seem to select the "better" pollen and to focus on quality instead of quantity.

Details

Title: The same, but different: Pollen foraging in honeybee and bumblebee colonies
Authors: Sara Leonhardt (Author) - Leuphana University, Germany
N Bluthgen (Author) - University of Darmstadt, Germany
Publication details: Apidologie, Vol.43(4), pp.449-464
Publisher: Springer France
Date published: 2012
DOI: 10.1007/s13592-011-0112-y
ISSN: 0044-8435
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449524002621
Output Type: Journal article

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