Dataset Information

Floral Traits Predict Frequency of Defecation on Flowers by Foraging Bumble Bees.

ABSTRACT: Flowers may become inoculated with pathogens that can infect bees and other critical pollinators, but the mechanisms of inoculation remain unclear. During foraging, bees may regurgitate or defecate directly onto flower parts, which could inoculate flowers with pollinator pathogens and lead to subsequent disease transmission to floral visitors. We tested if captive eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) defecate on floral surfaces during foraging and if flower shape played a role in the probability of defecation and the quantity of feces deposited on floral surfaces. Captive Bombus impatiens were fed a solution of fluorescent dye and sucrose, then allowed to forage freely on flowers of a variety of shapes in a flight cage. Flowers were then examined under ultraviolet light for fluorescing fecal matter. We found that bumble bees did defecate on floral surfaces during foraging and that composite flowers with a large area of disk flowers were the most likely to have feces on them. Our results point to defecation by bumble bees during foraging as a potential mechanism for inoculation of flowers with pollinator pathogens and suggest that flower shape could play a significant role in inoculation.

SUBMITTER: Bodden JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937503 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Floral Traits Predict Frequency of Defecation on Flowers by Foraging Bumble Bees.

Bodden Jonah M JM Hazlehurst Jenny A JA Wilson Rankin Erin E EE

Journal of insect science (Online) 20190901 5

Flowers may become inoculated with pathogens that can infect bees and other critical pollinators, but the mechanisms of inoculation remain unclear. During foraging, bees may regurgitate or defecate directly onto flower parts, which could inoculate flowers with pollinator pathogens and lead to subsequent disease transmission to floral visitors. We tested if captive eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) defecate on floral surfaces during foraging and if flower shap ...[more]

PMID: 31557288

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Project description:Hotspots of disease transmission can strongly influence pathogen spread. Bee pathogens may be transmitted via shared floral use, but the role of plant species and floral trait variation in shaping transmission dynamics is almost entirely unexplored. Given the importance of pathogens for the decline of several bee species, understanding whether and how plant species and floral traits affect transmission could give us important tools for predicting which plant species may be hotspots for disease spread. We assessed variation in transmission via susceptibility (probability of infection) and mean intensity (cell count of infected bees) of the trypanosomatid gut pathogen Crithidia bombi to uninfected Bombus impatiens workers foraging on 14 plant species, and assessed the role of floral traits, bee size and foraging behavior on transmission. We also conducted a manipulative experiment to determine how the number of open flowers affected transmission on three plant species, Penstemon digitalis, Monarda didyma, and Lythrum salicaria. Plant species differed fourfold in the overall mean abundance of Crithidia in foraging bumble bees (mean including infected and uninfected bees). Across plant species, bee susceptibility and mean intensity increased with the number of reproductive structures per inflorescence (buds, flowers and fruits); smaller bees and those that foraged longer were also more susceptible. Trait-based models were as good or better than species-based models at predicting susceptibility and mean intensity based on AIC values. Surprisingly, floral size and morphology did not significantly predict transmission across species. In the manipulative experiment, more open flowers increased mean pathogen abundance fourfold in Monarda, but had no effect in the other two plant species. Our results suggest that variation among plant species, through their influence on pathogen transmission, may shape bee disease dynamics. Given widespread investment in pollinator-friendly plantings to support pollinators, understanding how plant species affect disease transmission is important for recommending plant species that optimize pollinator health.

Dataset Information

Floral Traits Predict Frequency of Defecation on Flowers by Foraging Bumble Bees.

Publications

Floral Traits Predict Frequency of Defecation on Flowers by Foraging Bumble Bees.

Similar Datasets

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