DNA metabarcoding reveals a constancy in the foraging strategy of bumblebees

In this study, commercial colonies of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris wereexperimentally manipulated by removing half of the workers, in order to investigateconsequent changes in foraging strategies and bumblebee-plant networks. Before andafter the manipulation, pollen pellets were collected from the individual workers aftertheir foraging trips. The manipulated colonies were compared with untreated ones inthe same period.

本研究以商业化饲养的地熊蜂（Bombus terrestris）蜂群为实验材料，通过移除半数工蜂的方式开展实验调控，旨在探究该操作后熊蜂觅食策略与熊蜂-植物网络的相应变化。实验调控前后，均在工蜂完成觅食归巢后，从单只工蜂处采集其携带的花粉团。同期将经实验调控的蜂群与未施加处理的对照组蜂群进行对照分析。