the males of the three species of bumblebees, bombus (thoracobombus) ruderarius (müller), b. (t.) persicus radoszkowskiand b. (t.) mesomelas gerstaecker collected from vikan village, qazvin province and their male labial gland secretions were analyzed by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (gc/ms) and components of their extracts were identified. the major compounds were a complex mixture of ...

Pollinator-driven diversification is thought to be a major source of floral variation in plants. Our knowledge of this process is, however, limited to indirect assessments of evolutionary changes. Here, we employ experimental evolution with fast cycling Brassica rapa plants to demonstrate adaptive evolution driven by different pollinators. Our study shows pollinator-driven divergent selection a...

Bumblebees use invisible temperature patterns on flowers to make foraging decisions.

Populations on islands often exhibit lower levels of genetic variation and ecomorphological divergence compared to their mainland relatives. While phenotypic differentiation in characters, such as size or shape among insular organisms, has been well studied, insular differentiation in quantitative reproductive traits involved in chemical communication has received very little attention to date....

Social learning occurs when one individual learns from another, mainly conspecific, often by observation, imitation, or communication.Using artificial flowers, we studied social learning by allowing test bumblebees to (a) see dead bumblebees arranged in foraging positions or (b) watch live bumblebees actually foraging or (c) communicate with nestmates within their colony without having seen for...

We analyze 3D flight paths of bumblebees searching for nectar in a laboratory experiment with and without predation risk from artificial spiders. For the flight velocities we find mixed probability distributions reflecting the access to the food sources while the threat posed by the spiders shows up only in the velocity correlations. The bumblebees thus adjust their flight patterns spatially to...

Insects use several senses to forage, detecting floral cues such as color, shape, pattern, and volatiles. We report a formerly unappreciated sensory modality in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), detection of floral electric fields. These fields act as floral cues, which are affected by the visit of naturally charged bees. Like visual cues, floral electric fields exhibit variations in pattern and ...

Bumblebees belong to the genus Bombus, which comprises about 250 species, largely confined to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. They are wholly dependent on flowers for their energetic and developmental requirements. Most are social species, with nest sizes varying from 50 to 400 workers. As such, they have attracted considerable attention regarding their role as pollinators. There is a growin...