Diet effects on bumblebee health.
Among physiological processes, the maintenance of immunity is one of the most energetically costly in invertebrates. Disease resistance can be quantified by measuring immunocompetence, which is defined as the ability of an organism to mount an immune response, either in cellular, humoral or behavioural forms. In insects, immune capacity can be affected by a variety of factors including pesticides, genetic diversity or diet. Here we focus on an important species of domesticated pollinator, Bombus terrestris, and the potential impact of a poor pollen diet (low nutritional content and toxic) on its health. We investigate three responses at both colony and individual levels: behavioural, humoral and cellular. Our results show that poor pollen diets decrease larval and pupal masses and increase larval ejection as well as adult constitutive immunity (i.e., prophenoloxidase assays). The susceptibility of bumblebees to disease and infection might therefore be greater after a nutritive stress. These findings raise the importance of available plant hosts, especially floral plant species providing pollen with suitable nutritive quality (i.e., nutrient pollen content) for bumblebees.
Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons - UMONS, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium. Electronic address: nathalie.roger@umons.ac.be.
Nathalie
N
Roger
Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons - UMONS, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Denis
D
Michez
Department of Proteomic and Microbiology, Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons - UMONS, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Ruddy
R
Wattiez
Research Institute for Biosciences, Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, University of Mons - UMONS, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Christopher
C
Sheridan
Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons - UMONS, Place du Parc 20, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Maryse
M
Vanderplanck
D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D009753:Nutritive Value; D011058:Pollen / Q000737:chemistry*; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology
Bumblebee; Floral resources; Immune system; Immunocompetence; Pollen diet