Data from: Bumble bees damage plant leaves and accelerate flower production when pollen is scarce

Maintaining phenological synchrony with flowers is a key ecological
challenge for pollinators that may be exacerbated by ongoing environmental
change. Here, we show that bumble bee workers facing pollen scarcity
damage leaves of flowerless plants and thereby accelerate flower
production. Laboratory studies revealed that leaf-damaging behavior is
strongly influenced by pollen availability and that bee-damaged plants
flower significantly earlier than undamaged or mechanically damaged
controls. Subsequent outdoor experiments showed that the intensity of
damage inflicted varies with local flower availability; furthermore,
workers from wild colonies of two additional bumble bee species were also
observed to damage plant leaves. These findings elucidate a feature of
bumble bee worker behavior that can influence the local availability of
floral resources.