<i>Bombus terrestris</i> Prefer Mixed-Pollen Diets for a Better Colony Performance: A Laboratory Study
Ziyu Zhou,
Hong Zhang,
Shibonage K. Mashilingi,
Chunting Jie,
Baodi Guo,
Yi Guo,
Xiao Hu,
Shahid Iqbal,
Bingshuai Wei,
Yanjie Liu,
Jiandong An
Affiliations
Ziyu Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Hong Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shibonage K. Mashilingi
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Chunting Jie
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Baodi Guo
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Yi Guo
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiao Hu
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shahid Iqbal
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Bingshuai Wei
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Yanjie Liu
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Jiandong An
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Key Laboratory of Insect-Pollinator Biology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Pollen is a major source of proteins and lipids for bumblebees. The nutritional content of pollen may differ from source plants, ultimately affecting colony development. This study investigated the foraging preferences of Bombus terrestris in regard to four pollen species, i.e., oilseed rape, wild apricot, sunflower, and buckwheat, under laboratory conditions. The results show that B. terrestris diversified their preference for pollens; the bumblebees mostly preferred wild apricot pollen, whereas sunflower pollen was the least preferred. The colonies fed on a mixed four-pollen diet, with a protein–lipid ratio of 4.55–4.86, exhibited better development in terms of the number of offspring, individual body size and colony weight. The colonies fed with buckwheat and sunflower pollens produced a significantly lower number of workers and failed to produce queen and male offspring. Moreover, wild apricot pollen had the richest protein content (23.9 g/100 g) of the four pollen species, whereas oilseed rape pollen had the highest lipid content (6.7 g/100 g), as revealed by the P:L ratios of wild apricot, sunflower, buckwheat, and oilseed rape, which were 6.76, 5.52, 3.50, and 3.37, respectively. Generally, B. terrestris showed feeding preferences regarding different pollens and a mixture of pollens, which ultimately resulted in differences in colony development. The findings of this study provide important baseline information to researchers and developers of nutritive pollen diets for bumblebees.