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First published online June 27, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 2239-2242 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.016642
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Bumble bees heat up for high quality pollen

Katherine S. Mapalad, Daniel Leu and James C. Nieh*

University of California San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: jnieh{at}ucsd.edu)

Accepted 12 May 2008

Thermoregulation plays a key role in bee foraging, allowing some species to forage in suboptimal temperatures. Recently, bumble bee thoracic temperature (Tth) has been shown to increase with nectar carbohydrate content. However, pollen is also vital to bees and exhibits a greater than 20-fold range in protein quality. We provide the first demonstration that bee Tth is also correlated with pollen quality. We allowed bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, foragers from two colonies to collect pollen varying in quality (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by mass mixed with indigestible {alpha}-cellulose). We used infrared thermography to measure surface Tth when a forager finished collecting feeder pollen and when she returned to the nest. Foragers significantly elevated their Tth over ambient air temperature while collecting pollen and maintained this elevated Tth upon returning to the nest. On average, foragers increased Tth over ambient by 0.4°C per 25% increase in pollen protein content. Bumble bees can therefore adjust their thoracic temperature according to pollen quality.

Key words: thermoregulation, foraging, pollen quality, endothermy, Bombus


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This article has been cited by other articles:


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POLLEN MAKES BEES HOT
J. Exp. Biol., July 15, 2008; 211(14): iii - iii.
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