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Interindividual variability in flower pickiness by foraging bumblebees
Armand, Mélissa, Beckenbauer, Christoph, Avarguès-Weber, Aurore, Lihoreau, Mathieu und Czaczkes, Tomer J. (2025) Interindividual variability in flower pickiness by foraging bumblebees. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 79, S. 101.Veröffentlichungsdatum dieses Volltextes: 29 Sep 2025 11:15
Artikel
DOI zum Zitieren dieses Dokuments: 10.5283/epub.77865
Zusammenfassung
Pollinators navigate complex and heterogeneous “flower markets”, where floral resources vary in quality, availability, and spatial distribution. Bumblebees, as generalist foragers, visit numerous flowers during their foraging bouts, yet the factors influencing their flower choices and the individual differences in foraging behaviour remain poorly understood. Here, we tested how bees adjust their ...
Pollinators navigate complex and heterogeneous “flower markets”, where floral resources vary in quality, availability, and spatial distribution. Bumblebees, as generalist foragers, visit numerous flowers during their foraging bouts, yet the factors influencing their flower choices and the individual differences in foraging behaviour remain poorly understood. Here, we tested how bees adjust their foraging in response to different reward structures. Bombus terrestris workers completed three foraging bouts in two artificial flower environments: one simulating a favourable environment with patches alternating high- and low-quality flowers (40% vs. 20% w/w sucrose solution), and the other a challenging environment with high-quality flowers alongside unrewarded ones (40% w/w sucrose solution vs. plain water). We hypothesised that bees would improve their foraging efficiency in both environments, but more rapidly in the more extreme one, where the greater reward difference creates stronger pressure to learn quickly. In both conditions, bees increased their sucrose intake per unit time over bouts. We also observed consistent differences in flower selectivity among individuals: in the favourable environment, bees that first visited high-quality flowers focused on them and avoided low-quality ones (became “picky”), while bees that first visited low-quality flowers kept visiting both types. Despite these differences, bees across environments and pickiness levels all reached similar sucrose intake rates by the third foraging bout, either by becoming more selective, collecting more sucrose solution, or reducing time spent foraging. These findings highlight the adaptability of bee foraging and suggest that early flower experiences may contribute to lasting individual differences in foraging behaviour.
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| Dokumentenart | Artikel | ||||
| Titel eines Journals oder einer Zeitschrift | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | ||||
| Verlag: | Springer Nature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band: | 79 | ||||
| Seitenbereich: | S. 101 | ||||
| Datum | 29 September 2025 | ||||
| Institutionen | Biologie und Vorklinische Medizin > Institut für Zoologie | ||||
| Projekte |
Gefördert von:
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
(462101190)
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| Identifikationsnummer |
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| Stichwörter / Keywords | Bombus terrestris · Foraging efficiency · Flower selectivity · Interindividual variation · Behavioral flexibility | ||||
| Dewey-Dezimal-Klassifikation | 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 590 Tiere (Zoologie) | ||||
| Status | Veröffentlicht | ||||
| Begutachtet | Ja, diese Version wurde begutachtet | ||||
| An der Universität Regensburg entstanden | Zum Teil | ||||
| URN der UB Regensburg | urn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-778657 | ||||
| Dokumenten-ID | 77865 |
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