Dietary Effects of Bee Bread and Pollen on Early Nesting Success in Indoor-Reared Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24925/turjaf.v14i7.1979-1985.8847Keywords:
Colony foundation, Bee bread, Bombus terrestris, Body weight , PollenAbstract
The effects of pollen- and bee bread-based diets on early colony establishment and worker quality in Bombus terrestris were evaluated under indoor rearing conditions. Ninety mated queens were randomly assigned to six diet groups (15 queens per group): Poppy Pollen, Cistus Pollen, Pollen Mix, Poppy Bee Bread, Cistus Bee Bread, and Bee Bread Mix. Queens were monitored from nest initiation to the emergence of the first workers, and the resulting workers were further assessed for body size traits. Diet type did not have a significant-effect on the principal pre-social colony establishment parameters. The time to first egg laying, time to first worker emergence, and the number of workers produced in the first brood were similar among groups. Egg-laying rates ranged from 33.3% (Bee Bread Mix) to 53.3% (Pollen Mix), while first-brood worker production remained within a narrow range (mean range 5.40, 6.33 workers). Although not statistically significant, bee bread groups tended to show numerically shorter development times, and the Bee Bread Mix group had the lowest mean worker emergence time (31.80 ± 2.71 days). In contrast, diet had a clear effect on post-social worker quality. Worker thorax length-width, and body weight differed significantly among treatments. The Pollen Mix and Poppy Bee Bread groups produced workers with the largest thoracic dimensions, whereas the Cistus Bee Bread group showed the lowest thorax measurements. Worker body weight was highest in the Pollen Mix (0.277 mg), Poppy Pollen (0.274 mg), and Poppy Bee Bread (0.271 mg) groups, and lowest in the Cistus Pollen group (0.208 mg). Overall, the tested diets did not markedly alter the timing of early colony initiation, but they did influence the quality of workers produced after colony establishment. These findings suggest that bee bread, particularly when derived from nutritionally improving worker phenotype during the critical early phase of colony development.
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