Variation in North American bumble bee nest success and colony sizes under captive rearing conditions

Authors: STRANGE, JAMES - The Ohio State University; TRIPODI, AMBER - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); Lindsay, Tien; HERNDON, J - Utah State University; KNOBLETT, JOYCE - Retired ARS Employee; CHRISTMAN, MORGAN - The Ohio State University; BARKAN, N - The Ohio State University; Koch, Jonathan

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2023
Publication Date: 6/5/2023
Citation: Strange, J.P., Tripodi, A.D., Lindsay, T.T., Herndon, J.D., Knoblett, J., Christman, M.E., Barkan, N.P., Koch, J. 2023. Variation in North American bumble bee nest success and colony sizes under captive rearing conditions. Journal of Insect Science. 23(3). Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iead032.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iead032

Interpretive Summary: Of the 265 known bumble bee species, knowledge of colony lifecycle is derived from relatively few species. As interest in bumble bee commercialization and conservation grows, it is becoming increasingly important to understand colony growth dynamics across a variety of species since variation exists in nest initiation success, colony growth, and reproductive output among species. In this study, we documented successful nest initiation and establishment rates of colonies produced from wild-caught gynes, and created a timeline of colony development for fifteen western North American bumble bee species captively reared from 2009 to 2019. Additionally, we assessed variation in colony size among five western North American bumble bee species from 2015 to 2018. Results from this study increase knowledge of systematic nesting biology for a multitude of western North American bumble bee species under captive rearing conditions, which can further improve rearing techniques available to conservationists and researchers.

Technical Abstract: Of the 265 known bumble bee species, knowledge of colony lifecycle is derived from relatively few species. As interest in bumble bee commercialization and conservation grows, it is becoming increasingly important to understand colony growth dynamics across a variety of species since variation exists in nest initiation success, colony growth, and reproductive output among species. In this study, we documented successful nest initiation and establishment rates of colonies produced from wild-caught gynes, and created a timeline of colony development for fifteen western North American Bombus species captively reared from 2009 to 2019. Additionally, we assessed variation in colony size among five western North American Bombus species from 2015 to 2018. Nest initiation and establishment rates varied greatly among species, ranging from 5–76.1% and 0–71.8%, respectively. Bombus griseocollis had the highest rates of nest success across the eleven-year period, followed by B. occidentalis, B. vosnesenskii, and B. huntii. Further, we identified that colonies reared from two gynes had significantly higher nest initiation and nest establishment success rates than those reared from a single gyne. Colony size also differed significantly among species with Bombus huntii and B. vosnesenskii producing significantly more worker/drone brood cells than B. griseocollis, B. occidentalis, and B. vancouverensis. Additionally, gyne production differed significantly among species with Bombus huntii colonies producing more gynes than B. vosnesenskii. Results from this study increase knowledge of systematic nesting biology for a multitude of western North American Bombus species under captive rearing conditions, which can further improve rearing techniques available to conservationists and researchers.