ISHS Acta Horticulturae 288: VI International Symposium on Pollination
REGULATION OF COLONY DEVELOPMENT IN BUMBLEBEES |
| Author: | M.J. Duchateau |
| Abstract:
The considerable variability among bumblebee colonies (Bombus terrestris) in the production of workers, males and queens is caused, in part, by the moment the queen switches from the laying of diploid to haploid eggs. This determines primarily the size of the worker population and secondarily the numbers of males and the chances for the production of young queens. Social stress factors like the number of workers, agonistic behaviour and the ovarian development of the workers are not the cause of the queens' switch. Factors acting in the solitary phase of the queen, like the conditions during hibernation and the duration of the solitary phase after collecting the queens in the field, effect the timing of the switch point. | |
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