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THE EFFECTS OF FOOD SUPPLY ON ADULT SIZE IN THE BUMBLE BEE BOMBUS TERRICOLA KIRBY (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

G.H. Sutcliffe  and
R.C. Plowright
G.H. Sutcliffe
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
R.C. Plowright
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
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Abstract

Captive colonies of Bombus terricola Kirby received pollen for 8, 14, or 24 h per day from the time of onset of second brood oviposition until colony decline. The pattern of change of worker body size over time, especially between the first and second broods, varied according to these experimental food regimes. The results indicate that conflicting results reported in the literature, with respect to changes in worker size over the course of colony development, probably can be regarded, at least in part, as the outcome of differences in food supply.

Résumé

Des colonies captives de Bombus terricola Kirby ont reçu du pollen pendant 8, 14 ou 24 h par jour, depuis le début de la ponte de la seconde couvée jusqu’au déclin de la colonie. Les variations de la taille des travailleuses au cours du temps, surtout entre la première et la seconde couvées, étaient en rapport avec ces rations alimentaires. Les résultats indiquent que les résultats contradictoires rapportés dans la littérature au sujet des changements de taille au cours du développement d’une colonie résultent probablement et du moins en partie, d’une différence dans la quantité de ressources alimentaires disponibles.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 120 , Issue 12 , December 1988 , pp. 1051 - 1058
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

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