Bumblebees are pollinator generalists, flying to more flower species than most other insects, but a new study suggests that this behaviour depends on competition.
Colin Fontaine and his colleagues at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris recorded the foraging behaviour of individual common bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) in an experimental garden where five flowering plant species were available. The researchers varied the number of bees present during the experiment and found that when few bees were present, they visited fewer species of plant.
Pollinator numbers are known to be falling in many regions owing to human disturbance. Worryingly, the resulting reduced competition could lead bumblebees to eschew some plant species.
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Ecology: Competing keeps bees busy. Nature 454, 141 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454141a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/454141a
