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The Lorentz symmetry breaking theory not only affects the space-time background but also the dynamic behavior of bosons and fermions in curved space-time. Therefore, the Lorentz symmetry breaking theory will affect the quantum tunneling rate, Hawking temperature, black hole entropy, and other physical quantities of black holes. According to the modification of the space-time background and the modification of the particle dynamic equations, the quantum tunneling radiation of the Kerr-Sen-like black hole in bumblebee gravitational theory and its related contents are deeply studied. The research methods and a series of new results obtained in this paper are discussed. This makes the research methods and conclusions in this paper of more astrophysical significance and reference value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bumble bees are known to be amongst the most efficient natural pollinators and their increased scarcity in the ecosystem has led us to study their habitat and ethological preferences, so that future efforts can be designed for their restoration under the natural habitat. The present investigation explores the natural nest architecture, structural features of nest habitat, location of the nest, environmental parameters, population dynamics, emergence of drones, gynes, and variation in the sex ratio of Bombus haemorrhodalis. A total of ten natural nests were excavated at different altitudes ranging from 473.05 to 1258.52 m from different sites in two locations Nauni and Gandhal. The species inhabited the underground abandoned rodent's cavities as nests at a depth of 15 cm to 140 cm with 1–2 external hidden entrances or below ground covered with involucrum made of small dried grass, leaves, pine needles, paper infused on/with wax, etc. The shape of the nest varied from circular to oval with an average size of about 3.88 cubic decimeters. The colony strength of all excavated nests ranged between 15 and 113 individuals, with average internal ambient temperature and relative humidity of the nest cavity varying from 20.9–29.7 °C and 24.6–79.3 percent, respectively. The honey storage (length x width; 16.02 × 15.74 mm), queen (15.02 × 14.60 mm), worker (13.25 × 12.58 mm) and drone cells (11.13 mm × 10.45 mm) varied in dimensions and were constructed by the workers with colony development. As a potential natural strategy to ensure survival, the gynes emerged earlier and higher in number than drones in late summer to early autumn and this progeny survived until the end of autumn. The current study exploring the natural environment of B. haemorrhoidalis helps understand and correlate the natural nest characteristics with laboratory-reared colonies for year-round rearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Asian Journals of Ecotoxicology is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Insect Biodiversity & Systematics is the property of Tarbiat Modares University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mosquito adulticides are perceived by the public as detrimental to nontarget arthropods, contributing to declines of native and beneficial insects. However, the actual impact of adulticides on nontarget arthropods in nature needs to incorporate biological and ecological elements. Here, we investigated the effect of biological/behavioral traits (butterfly roosting at different heights, roosting in sites underneath foliage, bumblebee hive usage) and interactions (parasitism, predation) of pollinators (butterflies and bumblebees) that could mediate the impacts of malathion application in manipulative semi-field experiments in Florida, USA. Roosting height from the spray route had a significant negative relationship with mortality of butterflies treated with ULV malathion, with high survival at the highest roosting height (7 m), but butterflies roosting among vegetation did not have higher survival. Bumblebees with hive access had significantly higher survival than bumblebees without hive access. Host plants treated with ULV malathion significantly reduced parasitism of monarch eggs by Trichogramma platneri, but increased predation of monarch caterpillars by Polistes paper wasps. These data provide insight into the realistic impacts of adulticide applications on pollinators in nature which will enable mosquito control districts to better limit nontarget effects of adulticide treatments and may help to address concerns related to potential nontarget effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wasps are understudied in their contribution to pollination services. In order to better understand the ecological contribution of wasp communities to plant pollination, we conducted three studies to compare bees and wasps by (1) the plant communities visited in agricultural and prairie environments, (2) body pollen composition as an indirect measure of pollination and (3) a single‐visit deposition study as a direct measure of pollination in the plant species complex Solidago canadensis.We found wasps visit a distinct early‐blooming exotic plant community from bees but have overlapping use of late‐blooming native plants and similar network interaction metrics. This suggests wasps may fill an ecological niche distinct from bees, while also serving as common native plant visitors. We also found that body pollen density and pollen fidelity in four and five (out of six) wasp families, respectively, were comparable to or greater than the bee family Colletidae. Three wasp families also showed comparable to or greater visit fidelity than two (out of five) bee families examined. These results suggest wasps may carry and potentially deliver substantial pollen to specific plants. In addition, controlled single‐visit deposition revealed the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus deposits a similar amount of pollen grains as the bumble bee Bombus impatiens, suggesting surprisingly high pollination efficiency that warrants further investigation.Our multi‐pronged study shows the importance of investigating the role of wasps as pollinators, especially by focusing on direct plant‐pollination metrics to determine wasp pollination efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bees play an important role in agriculture and ecology, and their pollination efficiency is essential to the economic profitability of farms. The drastic decrease in bee populations witnessed over the last decade has attracted great attention to automated remote beehive monitoring research, with beehive acoustics analysis emerging as a prominent field. In this paper, we review the existing literature on bee acoustics analysis and report on the articles published between January 2012 and December 2021. Five categories are explored in further detail, including the origin of the articles, their study goal, experimental setup, audio analysis methodology, and reproducibility. Highlights and limitations in each of these categories are presented and discussed. We conclude with a set of recommendations for future studies, with suggestions ranging from bee species characterization, to recording and testing setup descriptions, to making data and codes available to help advance this new multidisciplinary field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonicotinoid insecticides can have sub‐lethal effects on bees which has led to calls from conservationists for a global ban. In contrast, agrochemical companies argue that neonicotinoids do not harm honeybees at field‐realistic levels. However, the focus on honeybees neglects the potential impact on other bee species. We conducted a meta‐analysis to assess whether field‐realistic neonicotinoid exposure has sub‐lethal effects on non‐Apis bees. We extracted data from 53 papers (212 effects sizes) and found that it largely consisted of two genera: bumblebees (Bombus) and mason bees (Osmia), highlighting a substantial taxonomic knowledge gap. Neonicotinoid exposure negatively affected reproductive output across all bees and impaired bumblebee colony growth and foraging. Neonicotinoids also reduced Bombus, but not Osmia, individual development (growth and body size). Our results suggest that restrictions on neonicotinoids should benefit bee populations and highlight that the current regulatory process does not safeguard pollinators from the unwanted consequences of insecticide use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low number of pollinating insects is the limiting factor for entomophilous plants in the north, and the situation is exacerbated by a short growing season and often unfavorable weather conditions for their life. The paper presents the results of studying the complex of pollinators of the specialized melittophilic species Veronica spicata at the northern limit of its distribution. It is shown that the structure of this complex is determined by the structural features of V. spicata flowers, the latitudinal position, and the differentiation of ecological niches of the species in the north. Unlike other parts of the range, where solitary bees play an important role in the pollination of V. spicata, this function in the north is performed by representatives of the genus Bombus Latr. (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Considering the level of species diversity and population structure, the pollinator complex of V. spicata is based on short proboscis species of bumblebees: Bombus lucorum s.l., B. jonellus, B. pratorum, B. sporadicus, and medium proboscis B. pascuorum. In accordance with the differentiation of ecological niches of V. spicata in the north, differences in the structure of the pollinator complex and foraging strategies of bumblebees were revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the paper V. Prokopov, S. Alexeyev, and O. Zenin, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 135, 91 (2022) was already published, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) obtained the first direct image of a black hole in the center of our galaxy, i.e. Sagittarius A* (see The Event Horizon Telescope Collab., Astrophys. J. Lett. 930 (L17) (2022)). Here we state that the results obtained earlier in the paper V. Prokopov, S. Alexeyev, and O. Zenin, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 135, 91 (2022) for the Horndesky model with the Gauss-Bonnet invariant, loop quantum gravity, scalar bumblebee model, Gauss–Bonnet gravity and conformal gravity are in the agreement with Sgr A* observations. The new observational data limit the values of the parameter α in f(Q) gravity: –0.025 < α < 0.005. For the alternative generalization of the bumblebee metric with the Schwarzschild approximation, the constraint transfers to –0.05 < l < 0.45. The obtained limits demonstrate the maximum that can be achieved without taking into account the black hole rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bumblebees are one among the anthophilous form and play a significant role in the pollination of major agricultural crops like medicinal, aromatic, ornamental and various other horticultural plants. They are abundant and mostly confined to flowers present in the temperate, alpine and arctic climates of the northern continents. The bumblebees are considered as most important pollinators and are mainly responsible for the conservation of high altitude vegetation germplasm where other insect pollinators are very much limited. They are more successful pollinators and can visit large number of flowers per minute than other bees and are perfect for picking up and transferring appreciable amount of compatible pollen to flowers and thus perform buzz pollination. It is quite evident that the population of bumblebee is gradually declining throughout the globe for the last 7 decades due to agricultural intensification, habitat loss, deforestation, overgrazing, pesticide poisoning and climate change. The present paper addresses this issue on the basis of literature survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) defines the network of physical objects, commonly used to interconnect and communicate with other devices through the internet. Security is highly essential in IoT based communication owing to the massive heterogeneity of devices involved in the network. The interlinked systems in IoT, requires the trusted model for assuring security, authenticity, authorization and confidentiality of interconnected things, irrespective of the functionalities. Considering the challenges in the provision of security in the IoT network, this paper proposes a new chaotic bumble bees mating optimization (CBBMO) algorithm for secure data transmission with trust sensing model, called CBBMOR-TSM model. The BBMO is stimulated by the mating nature of a swarm of bumble bees. To improve the convergence rate of the BBMO technique, the CBBMO model is defined by the integration of chaotic concept into the classical BBMO technique. The aim of the proposed model is to design a trust sensing model and perform secure routing using the CBMO algorithm. The proposed model initially designs a trust sensing model by incorporating indirect and direct trusts that are utilized to determine the trust values of the IoT nodes and thereby the malicious node can be identified. In addition, the secure routing process is invoked using the CMBO algorithm by using the trust sensing model to determine an optimal and secure path for data transmission. To examine the superior performance of the presented method, an extensive set of experiments are performed and the results are investigated in terms of different measures. The CBBMOR-TSM model has attained a higher average PDR of 0.931 and lower average PLR of 0.069 whereas the TRM_IOT, OSEAP_IOT and MCTAR-IOT methods have achieved a maximum PLR of 0.219, 0.161 and 0.110 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swarm Intelligence methodologies have been generally utilized in specialist area of WSNs. It is a generally new and successful domain, concentrating on the adjustment of total practices of different common organisms such as fish, ants, bumble bees, and birds, and also a lot of routing WSNs protocols have been produced in agreement with the stimulus out of the species searching practices. In this work standard guideline of swarm intelligence has been considered. The critical emergency in WSN is the network period. To encourage adaptability, nodes are consistently framed as cluster having a head, called cluster head (CH). CH is in charge for transmitting data to the base station and guides regular nodes to transmit detected information to target nodes. Energy use of CH is higher than the basic nodes. Thus, CH determination will irritate WSN period. In this work, different methods have been examined for CH selection to utilize swarm intelligence. The ultimate objective of this review is to have detailed examination over various SI approaches to show their ability to select CH. Finally, we complete the paper with a near examination, bringing up the essential difficulties and potential future guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand bee distributions in Japan, we started the citizen science program "Hanamaru‐Maruhana national census (Bumble bee national census in English)" from 2013, and collected bee photographs taken by citizens. Bee photographs were collected via e‐mail or "Mobile Phone System and Cloud Services" provided by Fujitsu FIP, Co. Species were identified from photographic images, and latitude‐longitude data were extracted from GPS data in Exif information of photographs or address in text of e‐mail. We have confirmed all 16 bumble bee species inhabiting in the Japanese archipelago excluding the Kurile Islands, and have got 5503 records of these bumble bees. In addition, we have got 380 records of three carpenter bee species that are often mistaken for bumble bees by citizens. This occurrence data cover the time range from September 2006 to October 2018, the latitudinal range from 26.45 to 45.29 and the longitudinal range from 127.80 to 145.82. The latitude–longitude data were rounded off to two decimal places in the published dataset for protecting privacy rights of citizens. In addition, the latitude–longitude data of five rare bumble bee species/subspecies were rounded off to one decimal place for protecting their habitats. The complete data set for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in electronic format in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2021-04.1/jalter-en. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the intriguing topic of the thermal stability of black holes (BHs) in the unique framework of bumblebee gravity. Our analysis primarily focuses on thermodynamic stability by examining the event horizon, black hole mass, thermal temperature and heat capacity. Additionally, we explore the intricacies of thermodynamic geometries such as Ruppeiner and Weinhold formulations and calculate their respective scalar curvatures in the context of bumblebee gravity. In our investigation, we also delve into the concept of phase transition through Gibbs free energy and the fascinating phenomenon of BH evaporation by energy emission. This research provides valuable insights into the complex thermodynamic properties of BHs and enhances our understanding of bumblebee gravity. We study the bosonic tunneling with spin-1 tunneling radiation in BHs. Initially, the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) was used to correct the field equation (FE) for vector particles with spin-1 and demonstrate that the Hawking temperature rises with an improvement in the GUP and the radial component of the vector field but is unaffected by the radial components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gyrocheilos is a small genus of Gesneriaceae endemic to hight altitude mountains in Southwest China and Guangdong Province, with only five species. This genus is characterized by laterally bending style, which curves 90° at the top of the style and the stigma right at the mouth of floral tube. This unusual floral trait may have special evolutionary and adaptive mechanisms. In this paper, three Gyrocheilos species, i.e. G. chorisepalus, G. retrotrichus, G. microtrichus were examined to figure out the developmental patterns of floral lateral bending. Breeding systems, floral syndrome and pollination processes were also studied in G. retrotrichus at Dawuling Mountain, Guangdong Province, to explore its pollination adaptations. The results were as follows: (1) G. microtrichus had only left-bending style, while right-bending style were observed in several flowers (2% -3% of the total flowers) of G. chorisepalus and G. retrotrichus, although the individuals and populations were dominated by left-bending style. (2) Pollination observation found that style lateral bending occurred at the early stage of floral bud in G. retrotrichus, with two fertile stamens were anther-united and hidden at the middle of the floral throat, and there was no left and right mirror symmetry relationship with the lateral style. (3) The pollen-ovule ratio (P/O) was (456.98 ± 15.55), belonging to facultative outcross breeding system. G. retrotrichus had a certain pollen limitation and self-pollination, but the germination rate of outcross seeds was higher, and there might be inbreeding decline. (4) There were few floral visitors and the frequency was low of G. retrotrichus. The main floral visitors were Halictidae, Bombus and Syrphidae. Bombus were large, and they landed on the bent style and the lower lip of the petals when visiting flowers. The side and lower part of the chest could effectively contact the stigma. (5) The detected reflected lights of flowers were composed of purple and blue-purple lights and the lower lips and outer floral tube with the highest reflection intensity, more likely to attract bees to land on the corolla's lower lip. Molecular phylogeny indicated that the closest genus of Gyrocheilos was Didymorcarpus, which was characterized by style downward bending and mirror-image flowers, suggesting the style lateral bending in Gyrocheilos probably evolved from either of these conditions. In conclusion, the lateral bending style might provide landing platform for pollinators and the stigma above the lower lips increase contact probability the floral visitors, which is an adaptation to the very low insect visitation due to fragmented and foggy habitats in high altitude areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that the paper "Greybody radiation and quasinormal modes of Kerr-like black hole in Bumblebee gravity model" (Kanzi and Sakallı in Eur Phys J C 81:501, 2021) recently published in this journal is based on an incorrect result obtained by Ding et al. (Eur Phys J C 80:178, 2020) for a Kerr-like black hole solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body size is arguably one of the most important traits influencing the physiology and ecology of animals. Shifts in animal body size have been observed in response to climate change, including in bumble bees (Bombus spp. [Hymenoptera: Apidae]). Bumble bee size shifts have occurred concurrently with the precipitous population declines of several species, which appear to be related, in part, to their size. Body size variation is central to the ecology of bumble bees, from their social organization to the pollination services they provide to plants. If bumble bee size is shifted or constrained, there may be consequences for the pollination services they provide and for our ability to predict their responses to global change. Yet, there are still many aspects of the breadth and role of bumble bee body size variation that require more study. To this end, we review the current evidence of the ecological drivers of size variation in bumble bees and the consequences of that variation on bumble bee fitness, foraging, and species interactions. In total we review: (1) the proximate determinants and physiological consequences of size variation in bumble bees; (2) the environmental drivers and ecological consequences of size variation; and (3) synthesize our understanding of size variation in predicting how bumble bees will respond to future changes in climate and land use. As global change intensifies, a better understanding of the factors influencing the size distributions of bumble bees, and the consequences of those distributions, will allow us to better predict future responses of these pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change disrupts key ecological processes and biotic interactions. The recent increase in heatwave frequency and severity prompts the evaluation of physiological processes that ensure the maintenance of vital ecosystem services such as pollination. We used experimental heatwaves to determine how high temperatures affect the bumblebees' ability to detect floral scents. Heatwaves induced strong reductions in antennal responses to floral scents in both tested bumblebee species (Bombus terrestris and Bombus pascuorum). These reductions were generally stronger in workers than in males. Bumblebees showed no consistent pattern of recovery 24 h after heat events. Our results suggest that the projected increased frequency and severity of heatwaves may jeopardize bumblebee-mediated pollination services by disrupting the chemical communication between plants and pollinators. The reduced chemosensitivity can decrease the bumblebees' abilities to locate food sources and lead to declines in colonies and populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite being among the most abundant biological entities on earth, bacteriophage (phage) remain an understudied component of host-associated systems. One limitation to studying host-associated phage is the lack of consensus on methods for sampling phage communities. Here, we compare paired total metagenomes and viral size fraction metagenomes (viromes) as methods for investigating the dsDNA viral communities associated with the GI tract of two bee species: the European honey bee Apis mellifera and the eastern bumble bee Bombus impatiens. Results: We find that viromes successfully enriched for phage, thereby increasing phage recovery, but only in honey bees. In contrast, for bumble bees, total metagenomes recovered greater phage diversity. Across both bee species, viromes better sampled low occupancy phage, while total metagenomes were biased towards sampling temperate phage. Additionally, many of the phage captured by total metagenomes were absent altogether from viromes. Comparing between bees, we show that phage communities in commercially reared bumble bees are significantly reduced in diversity compared to honey bees, likely reflecting differences in bacterial titer and diversity. In a broader context, these results highlight the complementary nature of total metagenomes and targeted viromes, especially when applied to host-associated environments. Conclusions: Overall, we suggest that studies interested in assessing total communities of host-associated phage should consider using both approaches. However, given the constraints of virome sampling, total metagenomes may serve to sample phage communities with the understanding that they will preferentially sample dominant and temperate phage. 6S3bFgh36a8k5RNed1PpF4 Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Working in lowbush blueberry fields, we studied how to provide a holistic measure of pesticide exposure to bees. Several different taxa of bees can be involved in blueberry pollination, including honey bees, bumble bees (which are native), and other native bees, such as mason, mining, and leafcutter bees. Using chemical analysis, we compared and contrasted samples from different sources to (1) measure pesticide exposure and (2) predict exposure risk in light of established levels of concern established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We trapped honey bee pollen as foragers entered the hive and, within the three years of the study, found considerable similarity of these samples to treated flowers; the measures were the number and concentration of pesticide residues, as well as the predicted level of risk. We found differences among two or three of these measures when comparing trapped honey bee pollen and trapped mason bee pollen, as well as between trapped honey bee pollen and whole bodies of captured honey bees. In these comparisons, the number of residues detected in honey bee pollen was typically greater, as was the estimated risk. The residues found when comparing whole body analysis of honey bee workers, bumble bee queens, and other native bees showed similarity in total residue concentrations and risk, but there was a higher number of different residues detected on honey bees. This research complements another study (Part I) focused on honey bee pollen trapping in lowbush blueberry and cranberry. Both studies provide a toxicological baseline for pesticide residue exposure to pollinators in the lowbush blueberry agroecosystem. In lowbush blueberry fields, we conducted residue analysis comparing flowers, trapped pollen (honey bee and Osmia spp.), and collected bees (honey bee workers, bumble bee queens, and non-Bombus spp. wild native bees). The study was conducted from 2012 to 2014. The number of pesticide residues, total concentrations, and risk to honey bees (Risk Quotient) on flowers were not significantly different from those determined for trapped honey bee pollen (except in one study year when residues detected in flower samples were significantly lower than residue numbers detected in trapped pollen). The compositions of residues were similar on flowers and trapped pollen. The number of residues detected in honey bee pollen was significantly greater than the number detected in Osmia spp. pollen, while the total concentration of residue was not different between the two types of pollen. The risk to honey bees was higher in trapped honey bee pollen than in trapped Osmia spp. pollen. The analysis of honey bee workers, native bumble bee queens, and native solitary bees showed that although more pesticide residues were detected on honey bee workers, there were no differences among the bee taxa in total residue concentrations or risk (as estimated in terms of risk to honey bees). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects rely on path integration (vector-based navigation) and landmark guidance to perform sophisticated navigational feats, rivaling those seen in mammals. Bees in particular exhibit complex navigation behaviors including creating optimal routes and novel shortcuts between locations, an ability historically indicative of the presence of a cognitive map. A mammalian cognitive map has been widely accepted. However, in insects, the existence of a centralized cognitive map is highly contentious. Using a controlled laboratory assay that condenses foraging behaviors to short distances in walking bumblebees, we reveal that vectors learned during path integration can be transferred to long-term memory, that multiple such vectors can be stored in parallel, and that these vectors can be recalled at a familiar location and used for homeward navigation. These findings demonstrate that bees meet the two fundamental requirements of a vector-based analog of a decentralized cognitive map: Home vectors need to be stored in long-term memory and need to be recalled from remembered locations. Thus, our data demonstrate that bees possess the foundational elements for a vector-based map. By utilizing this relatively simple strategy for spatial organization, insects may achieve high-level navigation behaviors seen in vertebrates with the limited number of neurons in their brains, circumventing the computational requirements associated with the cognitive maps of mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flight plays a crucial role in the fitness of insect pollinators, such as bumblebees. Despite their relatively large body size compared with their wings, bumblebees can fly under difficult ambient conditions, such as cooler temperatures. While their body size is often positively linked to their foraging range and flight ability, the influence of age remains less explored. Here, we studied the flight performance (distance, duration and speed) of ageing bumblebee workers using tethered flight mills. Additionally, we measured their intertegular distance and dry mass as proxies for their body size. We found that the flight distance and duration were predominantly influenced by age, challenging assumptions that age does not play a key role in foraging and task allocation. From the age of 7 to 14 days, flight distance and duration increased sixfold and fivefold, respectively. Conversely, the body size primarily impacted the maximum and average flight speed of workers. Our findings indicate that age substantially influences the flight distance and duration in bumblebee workers, affecting foraging performance and potentially altering task allocation strategies. This underscores the importance of considering individual age and physiological changes alongside body size/mass in experiments involving bumblebee workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a genome assembly and annotation for Bombus dahlbomii , the giant Patagonian bumble bee. DNA from a single, haploid male collected in Argentina was used for PacBio (HiFi) sequencing, and Hi-C technology was then used to map chromatin contacts. Using Juicer and manual curation, the genome was scaffolded into 18 main pseudomolecules, representing a high-quality, near chromosome-level assembly. The sequenced genome size is estimated at 265 Mb. The genome was annotated based on RNA sequencing data of another male from Argentina, and BRAKER3 produced 15,767 annotated genes. The genome and annotation show high completeness, with >95% BUSCO scores for both the genome and annotated genes (based on conserved genes from Hymenoptera). This genome provides a valuable resource for studying the biology of this iconic and endangered species, as well as for understanding the impacts of its decline and designing strategies for its preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals often make decisions without perfect knowledge of environmental parameters like the quality of an encountered food patch or a potential mate. Theoreticians often assume animals make such decisions using a Bayesian updating process that combines prior information about the frequency distribution of resources in the environment with sample information from an encountered resource; such a process leads to decisions that maximize fitness, given the available information. I examine three aspects of empirical work that shed light on the idea that animals can make such decisions in a Bayesian‐like manner. First, many animals are sensitive to variance differences in behavioral options, one metric used to characterize frequency distributions. Second, several species use information about the relative frequency of preferred versus nonpreferred items in different populations to make probabilistic inferences about samples taken from populations in a manner that results in maximizing the likelihood of obtaining a preferred reward. Third, the predictions of Bayesian models often match the behavior of individuals in two main approaches. One approach compares behavior to models that make different assumptions about how individuals estimate the quality of an environmental parameter. The patch exploitation behavior of nine species of birds and mammals has matched the predictions of Bayesian models. The other approach compares the behavior of individuals who learn, through experience, different frequency distributions of resources in their environment. The behavior of three bird species and bumblebees exploiting food patches and fruit flies selecting mates is influenced by their experience learning different frequency distributions of food and mates, respectively, in ways consistent with Bayesian models. These studies lend support to the idea that animals may combine prior and sample information in a Bayesian‐like manner to make decisions under uncertainty, but additional work on a greater diversity of species is required to better understand the generality of this ability. I examine empirical work that sheds light on the idea that animals can make decisions in a Bayesian‐like manner. I show evidence that animals are sensitive to variation in reward options and can make probabilistic inferences, two foundations of Bayesian‐like estimation. I also show that Bayesian models often predict the behavior of individuals in different environmental contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free-living organisms face multiple stressors in their habitats, and habitat quality often affects development and life history traits. Increasing pressures of agricultural intensification have been shown to influence diversity and abundance of insect pollinators, and it may affect their elemental composition as well. We compared reproductive success, body concentration of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), and C/N ratio, each considered as indicators of stress, in the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Bumblebee hives were placed in oilseed rape fields and semi-natural old apple orchards. Flowering season in oilseed rape fields was longer than that in apple orchards. Reproductive output was significantly higher in oilseed rape fields than in apple orchards, while the C/N ratio of queens and workers, an indicator of physiological stress, was lower in apple orchards, where bumblebees had significantly higher body N concentration. We concluded that a more productive habitat, oilseed rape fields, offers bumblebees more opportunities to increase their fitness than a more natural habitat, old apple orchards, which was achieved at the expense of physiological stress, evidenced as a significantly higher C/N ratio observed in bumblebees inhabiting oilseed rape fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal changes in population densities and species richness of three main pollinator groups—moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera); bees, wasps and sawflies (Hymenoptera); and hoverflies, horseflies, tachinids and bee flies (Diptera)—were investigated in the Carpathian Basin. Maintaining pollinator diversity is a crucial factor for preserving our biodiversity and ecosystems; furthermore, several pollinator species have a strong economic role in maintaining crop and fruit cultures. Our conclusions are based on our three and four decades of faunistic surveys in various regions of the Carpathian Basin. Analyzing and comparing our data with the historical data of the last 50 years, we concluded that densities of some pollinators declined during the past decade and a half (Symphyta, hoverflies), although populations of several species of Mediterranean origin grew (Aculeata) and new species even migrated from the warmer regions. In numerous cases, this decrease was dramatic: more than 90% decline of certain butterfly species were detected. On the other hand, the composition of pollinator fauna significantly changed due to the disappearance of some mountainous or mesophile species. The main reason for the decrease in pollinator communities is due partly to climatic change and partly to anthropogenic factors. Different groups of pollinators react differently: some groups like Syrphidae, Tachinidae, most of the butterfly families and bumblebees suffered a strong decline in the last two decades; other warm-loving groups like most of Aculeata and horseflies and bee flies showed a significant increase in population densities. Our conclusion: in our region, the pollinator crisis is present but moderate; however, there is a clear sign of the gradual transition of our pollinator fauna towards the Mediterranean type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most challenging aspects of bee ecology and conservation is species-level identification, which is costly, time consuming, and requires taxonomic expertise. Recent advances in the application of deep learning and computer vision have shown promise for identifying large bumble bee (Bombus) species. However, most bees, such as sweat bees in the genus Lasioglossum, are much smaller and can be difficult, even for trained taxonomists, to identify. For this reason, the great majority of bees are poorly represented in the crowdsourced image datasets often used to train computer vision models. But even larger bees, such as bumble bees from the B. vagans complex, can be difficult to separate morphologically. Using images of specimens from our research collections, we assessed how deep learning classification models perform on these more challenging taxa, qualitatively comparing models trained on images of whole pinned specimens or on images of bee forewings. The pinned specimen and wing image datasets represent 20 and 18 species from 6 and 4 genera, respectively, and were used to train the EfficientNetV2L convolutional neural network. Mean test precision was 94.9% and 98.1% for pinned and wing images respectively. Results show that computer vision holds great promise for classifying smaller, more difficult to identify bees that are poorly represented in crowdsourced datasets. Images from research and museum collections will be valuable for expanding classification models to include additional species, which will be essential for large scale conservation monitoring efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time of increasing threats to bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus), it is important to understand their ecology and distribution. As experts are limited in resources to conduct field surveys, there is potential for community scientists to help. The Bumble Bee Watch (BBW) community science program involves volunteers taking photos of bumble bees in Canada and the USA and submitting them, along with geographic and optional plant information, to a website or through an app. Taxon experts then verify the bee species identification. The Bumble Bees of North America database (BBNA) stores data (no photographs) collected and identified by more traditional scientific methods over the same range. Here we compared BBW data to BBNA data over all years and just 2010–2020 to understand the scientific contribution of community scientists to the state of the knowledge about native bumble bees. We found that BBW had similar geographic and species coverage as BBNA. It had records from all 63 provinces, states, and territories where bumble bees occur (including four more than BBNA in 2010–2020), and represented 41 of the 48 species in BBNA (with ten more species than BBNA in 2010–2020). While BBW contributed only 8.50% of records overall, it contributed 25.06% of all records over 2010–2020. BBW confirmed the persistence of species and identified new locations of species, both inside and outside of the previously known extent of occurrences. BBW also contributed a wealth of ecological information, such as unique plant genera and species data for almost all the bee species. Thus, while BBW had fewer bee records than the BBNA database overall, it helped to fill in data gaps and provided novel information, complementing the traditional methods. This community science program is valuable in helping to inform conservation management for bumble bee species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria are intracellular organelles responsible for cellular respiration with one of their major roles in the production of energy in the form of ATP. Activities with increased energetic demand are especially dependent on efficient ATP production, hence sufficient mitochondrial function is fundamental. In bees, flight muscle and the brain have particularly high densities of mitochondria to facilitate the substantial ATP production required for flight activity and neuronal signalling. Neonicotinoids are systemic synthetic insecticides that are widely utilised against crop herbivores but have been reported to cause, by unknown mechanisms, mitochondrial dysfunction, decreasing cognitive function and flight activity among pollinating bees. Here we explore, using high-resolution respirometry, how the neonicotinoid imidacloprid may affect oxidative phosphorylation in the brain and flight muscle of the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris. We find that acute exposure increases routine oxygen consumption in the flight muscle of worker bees. This provides a candidate explanation for prior reports of early declines in flight activity following acute exposure. We further find that imidacloprid increases the maximum electron transport capacity in the brain, with a trend towards increased overall oxygen consumption. However, intra-individual variability is high, limiting the extent to which apparent effects of imidacloprid on brain mitochondria are shown conclusively. Overall, our results highlight the necessity to examine tissue-specific effects of imidacloprid on respiration and energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interactions between plants and pollinators within a system can provide information about pollination requirements and the degree to which species contribute to floral reproductive success. Past research has focused largely on interactions within monocultured agricultural systems and only somewhat on wild pollination networks. This study focuses on the culturally significant Three Sisters Garden, which has been grown and tended by many Indigenous peoples for generations in the Great Lakes Region. Here, the plant-pollinator network of the traditional Three Sisters Garden with the inclusion of some additional culturally significant plants was mapped. Important visitors in this system included the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae), and the hoary squash bee, Xenoglossa pruinosa (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), as determined by their abundances and pollinator service index (PSI) values. Understanding the key pollinators in the Three Sisters Garden links biological diversity to cultural diversity through the pollination of culturally significant plants. Further, this information could be of use in supporting Indigenous food sovereignty by providing knowledge about which wild pollinators could be supported to increase fruit and seed set within the Three Sisters Garden. Our findings can also lead to more effective conservation of important wild pollinator species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the Utermöhl method to identify and analyze 300 samples of phytoplankton from the North Yellow Sea obtained in the summer of 2023. A total of 105 species (excluding unidentified species) belonging to 57 genera and 3 phyla of phytoplankton were identified, including 73 species in 38 genera of diatoms, 30 species in 17 genera of dinoflagellas, and 2 species in 2 genera of cyanobacteria. The community composition is mainly composed of diatoms, followed by dinoflagellates and then golden algae. The ecological types of phytoplankton in the surveyed sea area are mainly temperate nearshore, with dominant species including Dictyocha fibula, Gymnodinium simplex, Gyrodinium spirale, Diploneis bombus, Paralia sulcata, and Thalassionema nitzschioides. In this survey, Dictyocha fibula appears as an absolute dominant species. The abundance of phytoplankton cells ranges from 0.0381 × 103~33.3 × 103 cells · L-1, with an average value of 2.34 × 103 cells · L-1; The abundance of surface phytoplankton cells gradually decreases from nearshore to offshore, with the highest value reaching 33.3 × 103 cells · L-1 in the surface water near the western coast of the South Yellow Sea. High abundance areas also appeared in the southeastern part of the survey area near the open sea. The Shannon Wiener diversity index is high in the northern and southern parts of the survey area, while the Pielou evenness index shows a high value area in the eastern part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission of pathogens from reservoir to recipient host species, termed pathogen spillover, can profoundly impact plant, animal, and public health. However, why some pathogens lead to disease emergence in a novel species while others fail to establish or do not elicit disease is often poorly understood. There is strong evidence that deformed wing virus (DWV), an (+)ssRNA virus, spills over from its reservoir host, the honeybee Apis mellifera, into the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. However, the low impact of DWV on B. terrestris in laboratory experiments suggests host barriers to virus spread in this recipient host. To investigate potential host barriers, we followed the spread of DWV genotype B (DWV-B) through a host's body using RT-PCR after experimental transmission to bumblebees in comparison to honeybees. Inoculation was per os, mimicking food-borne transmission, or by injection into the bee's haemocoel, mimicking vector-based transmission. In honeybees, DWV-B was present in both honeybee faeces and haemolymph within 3 days of inoculation per os or by injection. In contrast, DWV-B was not detected in B. terrestris haemolymph after inoculation per os, suggesting a gut barrier that hinders DWV-B's spread through the body of a B. terrestris. DWV-B was, however, detected in B. terrestris faeces after injection and feeding, albeit at a lower abundance than that observed for A. mellifera, suggesting that B. terrestris sheds less DWV-B than A. mellifera in faeces when infected. Barriers to viral spread in B. terrestris following oral infection may limit DWV's impact on this spillover host and reduce its contribution to the community epidemiology of DWV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to investigate the roles of dopamine in regulating caste-specific behaviors in bumble bees and mating-related behaviors in bumble bee gynes. We examined caste differences in behaviors, biogenic amine levels, and expression levels of genes encoding dopamine receptors in the brains of bumble bees, and analyzed the effects of dopamine-related drugs on bumble bee behavior. Locomotor and flight activities were significantly higher in 8-day-old gynes and light avoidance was significantly lower in 4–8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers. Brain levels of dopamine and octopamine were significantly higher in 8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers, but tyramine and serotonin levels did not differ between the castes. Relative expression levels of the dopamine receptor gene BigDop1 were significantly lower in 8-day-old gynes than in same-aged workers, but expression levels of other dopamine receptor genes did not differ between castes. Dopamine significantly enhanced locomotor and flight activities in 7–9-day-old workers, whereas the dopamine receptor antagonist flupentixol inhibited flight activity and mating acceptance in same-aged gynes. These results suggest that dopamine plays important roles in gyne-specific behavior in bumble bees and has a common dopaminergic function in female eusocial bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is commonly associated with biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation. However, urban environments often have greenspaces that can support wildlife populations, including rare species. The challenge for conservation planners working in these systems is identifying priority habitats and corridors for protection before they are lost. In a rapidly changing urban environment, this requires prompt decisions informed by accurate spatial information. Here, we combine several approaches to map habitat and assess connectivity for a diverse set of rare species in seven urban study areas across southern Michigan, USA. We incorporated multiple connectivity tools for a comprehensive appraisal of species‐habitat patterns across these urban landscapes. We observed distinct differences in connectivity by taxonomic group and site. The three turtle species (Blanding's, Eastern Box, and Spotted) consistently had more habitat predicted to be suitable per site than other evaluated species. This is promising for this at‐risk taxonomic group and allows conservation efforts to focus on mitigating threats such as road mortality. Grassland and prairie‐associated species (American Bumble Bee, Black and Gold Bumble Bee, and Henslow's Sparrow) had the least amount of habitat on a site‐by‐site basis. Kalamazoo and the northern Detroit sites had the highest levels of multi‐species connectivity across the entire study area based on the least cost paths. These connectivity results have direct applications in urban planning. Kalamazoo, one of the focal urban regions, has implemented a Natural Features Protection (NFP) plan to bolster natural area protections within the city. We compared our connectivity results to the NFP area and show where this plan will have an immediate positive impact and additional areas for potential consideration in future expansions of the protection network. Our results show that conservation opportunities exist within each of the assessed urban areas for maintaining rare species, a key benefit of this multi‐species and multi‐site approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bumblebees are valuable assets in terms of pollination services in wild plants and greenhouses. The most well-studied species of bumblebees is Bombus terrestris which is commercially reared and sold on a large scale worldwide. Even though the artificial rearing of bumblebees started in the 1950s, there are still some problems in the massrearing process of them. One of the main problems is the low rate of gyne production in the late phase of the colony, to start the new colonies. So, the main objective of this study was to increase the number of produced gynes in the B. terrestris colonies by changing the caste of the larva from worker to queen. For this purpose, we used pyriproxyfen which is a juvenile hormone analogue compound. The first and early second-stage larvae were treated with 1,3 and 6 ppm of pyriproxyfen and the onset time of emergence, number, weight, mating succession, and diapause survival of new gynes were recorded. The results showed that the 3 ppm treatment had the highest number of the produced gynes, and also the shortest onset time of emergence. There was no difference in mating succession and diapause survival among the treatments. Based on the experiment results, we concluded that using a 3 ppm concentration of pyriproxyfen compound on young larvae of B. terrestris can induce the juvenile hormone effect and increase the number of produced gynes in the colony. We suggest that pyriproxyfen as a juvenile hormone analogue, regarding the concentration, type, and time of application on the young larvae, can be used to increase the number of produced gynes in the bees’ colony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect pollination is an important process in the natural ecosystem and plays a vital role in crop reproduction. The bumblebee, Bombus terrestris (L.), is a widely used pollinator for crops, especially tomato. The efficiency of bee pollination is related to many factors, including biotic factors such as bee species, nutrition plants, and herbivores. Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) is one of the most common and serious pests of tomato plants. However, whether B. tabaci affects the pollination behaviour of B. terrestris on tomato, and how plant–herbivore–pollinator interactions are unclear. In this study, we found that B. terrestris preferred B. tabaci-damaged plants. Furthermore, plant volatiles of tomato plants damaged by B. tabaci were detected and analysed. Electroantennogram (EAG) and the Y-tube bioassay were used for olfactory responses of B. terrestris to plant volatiles. Interestingly, methyl hexanoate and eugenol induced by B. tabaci in tomato plants were found to significantly attract B. terrestris. Therefore, Bemisia tabaci influenced B. terrestris preference through volatiles. The plant volatile-mediated interaction between B. tabaci and B. terrestris could enrich our understanding of the interaction between herbivores and pollinators. In addition, methyl hexanoate and eugenol could be applied for synergist of pollination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rising global population will need more food, increasing demand for insect pollination services. However, general insect declines conflict with this demand. One way to mitigate this conflict is to grow crop flowers that are easier for insects to find and more rewarding to those that visit them. This study quantifies variation in the pollinator‐relevant traits of nectar and pollen production, flower size and flower shape in commercial strawberry, finding significant variation between varieties in all traits. Bumblebees could learn to distinguish between the extremes of variation in flower shape, but this learning is very slow, indicating that this variation is at the limit of that which can be detected by bumblebees. Bee preferences for nectar of differing sugar concentrations at field‐realistic volumes were consistent with previous observations at larger volumes, suggesting that it is valid to translate lab findings to the field. This study builds on our knowledge of the range of pollinator reward present in a single cultivated species and of the impact of field‐realistic levels of variation in floral traits on bumblebee preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buzz-pollination is used by some bees to expel pollen through vibrating flowers. Yet, little is known about the determinants influencing bee preferences among buzz-pollinated flowers. We studied five co-flowering, nectarless species of Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae) buzz-pollinated by bumblebees in an alpine meadow, to investigate bumblebee' flower preferences in response to fluctuations of floral abundance across five years. We also recorded and analyzed the buzzing frequencies produced by the three dominant bumblebee specie. Our results indicate that Bombus friseanus and B. lepidus visited different Pedicularis flowers using similar buzz frequencies and displayed an abundance-dependent flower preference across years. These two bumblebee species had staggered phenologies with distinct timing of peak abundances across the five years. In contrast, B. festivus used lower fundamental buzz frequencies, had a constant flower preference across years, but used different buzz frequencies across Pedicularis species. Although the amount of pollen released after bumblebee visitation varied across Pedicularis species, we found that after a single visit all bumblebees deposited similar amounts of pollen on stigmas. Our study indicates that bumblebees' flower preferences is sometimes, but not always, modulated by floral abundance, and that at least one bumblebee species was observed to produce buzzes of different frequencies in different plant species. Competition for floral resources among bumblebees and for pollination services among co-flowering Pedicularis species may structure plant-pollinator interactions and affect species coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover image: Hermaphrodite flower of meadow clary I Salvia pratensis i (Dordogne, France) showing the exerted style with forked stigmas and the two anthers included under the upper lip. It is typically pollinated by honey bees ( I Apis mellifera i ) and bumblebees ( I Bombus spp i .). [Extracted from the article]

Müllerian mimicry provides natural replicates ideal for exploring mechanisms underlying adaptive phenotypic divergence and convergence, yet the genetic mechanisms underlying mimetic variation remain largely unknown. The current study investigates the genetic basis of mimetic color pattern variation in a highly polymorphic bumble bee, Bombus breviceps (Hymenoptera, Apidae). In South Asia, this species and multiple comimetic species converge onto local Müllerian mimicry patterns by shifting the abdominal setal color from orange to black. Genetic crossing between the orange and black phenotypes suggested the color dimorphism being controlled by a single Mendelian locus, with the orange allele being dominant over black. Genome-wide association suggests that a locus at the intergenic region between 2 abdominal fate-determining Hox genes, abd-A and Abd-B , is associated with the color change. This locus is therefore in the same intergenic region but not the same exact locus as found to drive red black midabdominal variation in a distantly related bumble bee species, Bombus melanopygus. Gene expression analysis and RNA interferences suggest that differential expression of an intergenic long noncoding RNA between abd-A and Abd-B at the onset setal color differentiation may drive the orange black color variation by causing a homeotic shift late in development. Analysis of this same color locus in comimetic species reveals no sequence association with the same color shift, suggesting that mimetic convergence is achieved through distinct genetic routes. Our study establishes Hox regions as genomic hotspots for color pattern evolution in bumble bees and demonstrates how pleiotropic developmental loci can drive adaptive radiations in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venom immunotherapy (VIT) protects up to 98% of treated Hymenoptera allergy patients from reactions with new stings. A correct diagnosis with the identification of the venom causing the allergic reaction is essential to implementing it. The knowledge of the Hymenoptera foraging habits when the sting takes place in a food environment would allow the culprit insect to be known. Images of Hymenoptera occurring in environments where there was human food were recorded in Spain, including the date of the image, the place description and its geolocation. The insects' genus and species were identified by an entomologist. Results: One hundred and fifty-five images depicting 71 insects were analyzed. The identified insects were Vespula (56), Vespa (7), Polistes (4), Cerceris (2), Bombus (1) and Apis (1). Most (97.1%) of the images were obtained in summer and early autumn, outdoors in terraces (64%). Meat was the food associated with 47.9% of the images. In protein-rich foods, Vespula was found in 89%. Conclusions: Vespula was the main Hymenoptera associated with food environments in our country (78.87%), and in most of the cases (71%), the food involved is a source of protein, such as meat or seafood. In that environment, the probability that the insect is a Vespula would be 89%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social organization is commonly dynamic, with extreme examples in annual social insects, but little is known about the underlying signals and mechanisms. Bumble bee larvae with close contact to a queen do not differentiate into gynes, pupate at an earlier age, and are commonly smaller than siblings that do not contact a queen. We combined detailed observations, proteomics, microRNA transcriptomics, and gland removal surgery to study the regulation of brood development and division of labor in the annual social bumble bee Bombus terrestris. We found that regurgitates fed to larvae by queens and workers differ in their protein and microRNA composition. The proteome of the regurgitate overlaps significantly with that of the mandibular (MG) and hypopharyngeal glands (HPG), suggesting that these exocrine glands are sources of regurgitate proteins. The proteome of the MG and HPG, but not the salivary glands, differs between queens and workers, with caste-specificity preserved for the MG and regurgitate proteomes. Queens subjected to surgical removal of the MG showed normal behavior, brood care, and weight gain, but failed to shorten larval development. These findings suggest that substances in the queen MG are fed to larvae and influence their developmental program. We suggest that when workers emerge and contribute to larval feeding, they dilute the effects of the queen substances, until she can no longer manipulate the development of all larvae. Longer developmental duration may allow female larvae to differentiate into gynes rather than to workers, mediating the colony transition from the ergonomic to the reproductive phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptations that attract pollinators to flowers are central to the reproductive success of insect‐pollinated plants, including crops. Understanding the influence of these non‐rewarding traits on pollinator preference is important for our future food security by maintaining sufficient crop pollination. We have identified substantial variation in flower shape, petal size, corolla‐tube length, petal spot size and floral volatile compounds among a panel of 30 genetically distinct lines of Vicia faba. Using this variation, we found that Bombus terrestris was able to distinguish between natural variation in petal spot size, floral volatile emissions and corolla‐tube length. Foragers showed some innate preference for spotted flowers over non‐spotted flowers and preferred shorter corolla‐tube lengths over longer tubes. Our results suggest that some floral traits may have significant potential to enhance pollinator attraction to V. faba crops, particularly if paired with optimised rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agricultural landscapes, bees face a variety of stressors, including insecticides and poor-quality food. Although both stressors individually have been shown to affect bumblebee health negatively, few studies have focused on stressor interactions, a scenario expected in intensively used agricultural landscapes. Using the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, a key pollinator in agricultural landscapes, we conducted a fully factorial laboratory experiment starting at nest initiation. We assessed the effects of food quality and insecticides, alone and in interaction, on health traits at various levels, some of which have been rarely studied. Pollen with a diluted nutrient content (low quality) reduced ovary size and delayed colony development. Wing asymmetry, indicating developmental stress, was increased during insecticide exposure and interactions with poor food, whereas both stressors reduced body size. Both stressors and their interaction changed the workers' chemical profile and reduced worker interactions and the immune response. Our findings suggest that insecticides combined with nutritional stress reduce bumblebee health at the individual and colony levels, thus possibly affecting colony performance, such as development and reproduction, and the stability of plant–pollinator networks. The synergistic effects highlight the need of combining stressors in risk assessments and when studying the complex effects of anthropogenic stressors on health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]