Search results for "Bombus"
showing 6 items of 16 documents
Genomic signatures of recent adaptation in a wild bumblebee
2021
AbstractBehavioral experiments and analyses of observation records have shown that environmental changes threaten insect pollinators, creating risks for agriculture and ecosystem stability. Despite their importance, we know little about how wild insects or other animals can adapt in response to environmental pressures. To understand the genomic bases of adaptation in an ecologically important pollinator, we analyzed genomes ofBombus terrestrisbumblebees collected across Great Britain. We reveal extensive genetic diversity within this population, and strong signatures of recent adaptation throughout the genome. More specifically, we find that selection recently affected key processes underpi…
Laboratory phase‐contrast nanotomography of unstained Bombus terrestris compound eyes
2021
Imaging the visual systems of bumblebees and other pollinating insects may increase understanding of their dependence on specific habitats and how they will be affected by climate change. Current high-resolution imaging methods are either limited to two dimensions (light- and electron microscopy) or have limited access (synchrotron radiation x-ray tomography). For x-ray imaging, heavy metal stains are often used to increase contrast. Here, we present micron-resolution imaging of compound eyes of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) using a table-top x-ray nanotomography (nano-CT) system. By propagation-based phase-contrast imaging, the use of stains was avoided and the microanatomy co…
FLIES AS POLLINATORS OF MELITTOPHILOUS SALVIA SPECIES (LAMIACEAE)
2014
UNLABELLED • PREMISE OF THE STUDY Floral adaptation to a functional pollinator group does not necessarily mean close specialization to a few pollinator species. For the more than 950 species of Salvia, only bee and bird pollinations are known. Restriction to these pollinators is mainly due to the specific flower construction (lever mechanism). Nevertheless, it has been repeatedly suggested that Salvia flowers might also be pollinated by flies. Are flies able to handle the lever mechanism? Are they functionally equivalent pollinators? In this study, we compared and quantified pollen transfer by bees and flies to test whether flies are true pollinators in Salvia.• METHODS We identified pollin…
La pollinisation du cassis : État des lieux dans un contexte de changements anthropiques.
2019
Cultivated plants are part of their agroecosystem. Recent anthropic changes modified and decreased the wildcompartment of agroecosystems leading to a lowering of ecosystemic services such as pollination. Blackcurrant ispollinated at least partially by insects. In a study on 8 sites in Côte-d’Or, Burgundy, France we showed that pollinatordensity is lower than 0.5 pollinators per minute of observation in blackcurrant orchards. Blackcurrant are preferentiallyvisited by Bombus sp. and to a lesser extent by Andrena and Apis sp. Comparison of pollinator abundance between2018 data and data from ancient publications show that even if the floral abortion rate did not vary significantly, thenumber of…
Ecological Stoichiometry of Bumblebee Castes, Sexes, and Age Groups
2021
Ecological stoichiometry is important for revealing how the composition of chemical elements of organisms is influenced by their physiological functions and ecology. In this study, we investigated the elemental body composition of queens, workers, and males of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, an important pollinator throughout Eurasia, North America, and northern Africa. Our results showed that body elemental content differs among B. terrestris castes. Young queens and workers had higher body nitrogen concentration than ovipositing queens and males, while castes did not differ significantly in their body carbon concentration. Furthermore, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio was higher in ovipositi…
Data from: Dynamic transmission, host quality and population structure in a multi-host parasite of bumble bees
2012
The evolutionary ecology of multi-host parasites is predicted to depend upon patterns of host quality and the dynamics of transmission networks. Depending upon the differences in host quality and transmission asymmetries, as well as the balance between intra- and inter-specific transmission, the evolution of specialist or generalist strategies is predicted. Using a trypanosome parasite of bumble bees we ask how host quality and transmission networks relate to parasite population structure across host species, and thus the potential for the evolution of specialist strains adapted to different host species. Host species differed in quality, with parasite growth varying across host species. Hi…