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Armand, Mélissa ; Beckenbauer, Christoph ; Avarguès-Weber, Aurore ; Lihoreau, Mathieu ; Czaczkes, Tomer J.

Interindividual variability in flower pickiness by foraging bumblebees

Armand, Mélissa, Beckenbauer, Christoph, Avarguès-Weber, Aurore, Lihoreau, Mathieu and Czaczkes, Tomer J. (2025) Interindividual variability in flower pickiness by foraging bumblebees. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 79, p. 101.

Date of publication of this fulltext: 29 Sep 2025 11:15
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.77865


Abstract

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.



Involved Institutions


Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Publisher:Springer Nature
Open Access Type:DEAL (Springer)
Volume:79
Page Range:p. 101
Date29 September 2025
InstitutionsBiology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie
Projects
Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (462101190)
Identification Number
ValueType
10.1007/s00265-025-03643-yDOI
KeywordsBombus terrestris · Foraging efficiency · Flower selectivity · Interindividual variation · Behavioral flexibility
Dewey Decimal Classification500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgPartially
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-778657
Item ID77865

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