Can commercially imported bumble bees out-compete their native conspecifics?
-
Published source details
Ings T.C., Ward N.L. & Chittka L. (2006) Can commercially imported bumble bees out-compete their native conspecifics?. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43, 940-948.
Published source details Ings T.C., Ward N.L. & Chittka L. (2006) Can commercially imported bumble bees out-compete their native conspecifics?. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43, 940-948.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
| Action | Category | |
|---|---|---|
|
Reintroduce laboratory-reared bumblebee colonies to the wild Action Link |
 |
|
|
Rear declining bumblebees in captivity Action Link |
|
-
Reintroduce laboratory-reared bumblebee colonies to the wild
Ings et al. (2006) placed seven laboratory-reared colonies of the native UK subspecies B. t. audax in field locations in Surrey, England. These colonies were left out until the founding queen died and all males and queens had emerged. They produced an average of 0.3 queens and 189 males/colony. Only two of the seven colonies produced any queens.
-
Rear declining bumblebees in captivity
Ings et al. (2006) reared wild-caught queens of the native UK subspecies B. terrestris audax in southern England. Queens were confined in dual compartment nest boxes at 25-28°C, 60% relative humidity, with two or three male pupae or artificial pupae made of clay. From 79 nest searching queens caught in March, 20 colonies were reared to the second brood of workers.
