Mating Stage on Year-Round Rearing of Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Abstract

Year-round bumble bee rearing facilities as a pollination vector in the production of many crops under greenhouse conditions are a strategic area of agriculture that is increasingly prevalent all over the world. Year round rearing of bumblebees under controlled conditions involves stages such as colony initiation, queen and male rearing, selection, mating, and breaking of diapause. Mating is one of the most critical stages for sustainability of year-round rearing. In contrast to honeybees, B. terrestris queens (♀) and males (♂) can be mated in flight cages. While the males do not die after copulation and can remate, the queens mate with only one male. Many factors such as age and body size, volatile pheromones secreted from the labial glands, male / queen ratio in mating cage, environmental conditions such as light intensity & frequency, temperature, photoperiod and nest material have effects on mating success. Like honeybees, the sex of bumblebees is determined by haplodiploidy in B. terrestris. Fertilized eggs laid by mated queens develop into adult diploid males if they are homozygous at a single sex locus. The production of diploid males increases dramatically with inbreeding. For this reason, rearing the young queens in sufficient numbers and mating them with unrelated males is also crucial for obtain quality colonies in successive generation. In this study, definition of basic necessities for mating stage on rearing stage of B. terrestris under controlled conditions was aimed. 

Keywords

• Bumblebee,Bombus terrestris,Mass rearing,Mating stage,Mass rearing

Yıl Boyu Kitlesel Bombus Arısı (Bombus terrestris) Yetiştiriciliğinde Çiftleştirme Aşaması

Öz

Örtü altı yetiştiriciliği yapılan birçok bitki türünde tozlayıcı vektör olarak kullanılan bombus arılarının yetiştiriciliği, dünyada önemi giderek artan stratejik bir tarımsal uğraşı haline gelmiştir. Bombus arılarının kontrollü koşullarda yıl boyu yetiştiriciliği koloni oluşturma, ana ve erkek arı yetiştirme, seleksiyon, çiftleştirme ve diyapoz dönemini kontrol etme gibi çeşitli aşamaları içermektedir. Kitlesel yetiştiriciliğin sürdürülebilir olması için en kritik aşamalardan birisi çiftleştirmedir. Bal arılarının aksine, Bombus terrestris ana (♀) ve erkekleri (♂) kapalı ortamlarda, çiftleşme kafeslerinde çiftleşebilmektedir. Erkek arılar çiftleşme sonrası tekrar çiftleşebilirken ana arılar sadece bir erkek arı ile çiftleşmektedir. Yaş ve vücut büyüklüğü, çene bezlerinden salgılanan uçucu feromonlar, çiftleşme kafesindeki erkek arı/ana arı oranı, ışık şiddeti ve frekansı, sıcaklık, nem, fotoperiyot, yuva materyali gibi çevre faktörleri B. terrestris ana (♀) ve erkeklerinin (♂) çiftleşme başarısına etki etmektedir. Bal arılarında olduğu gibi bombus arılarında da haplo diploid üreme sistemi söz konusudur. Cinsiyet lokuslarında homozigotlaşma olması durumunda ana arı tarafından yumurtlanan diploid yumurtalardan diploid erkek bireyler gelişir. Akrabalı yetiştiricilik diploid erkek üretimini önemli ölçüde arttırır. Bu nedenle, gelecek generasyonlarda kaliteli koloniler üretmek için yeteli sayıdaki genç ana arının kendilerine akraba olmayan erkek arılar ile çiftleştirilmesi önemlidir. Bu çalışmada, B. terrestris arısının kitlesel yetiştiriciliğinde yer alan çiftleştirme aşaması için temel gerekliliklerinin açıklanması amaçlanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Bombus arısı,Bombus terrestris,Kitlesel üretim,Çiftleştirme,Kitlesel üretim

References

1. Alaux C, Boutot M, Jaisson P, Hefetz A (2007) Reproductive plasticity in bumblebee workers (Bombus terrestris)- reversion from fertility to sterility under queen influence. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 62: 213–222.
2. Alford DV (1969) A study of the hibernation of bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Bombidae) in Southern England. J. Anim. Ecol. 38: 149-170.
3. Amin MR, Kwon YJ, Suh SJ (2007) Photoperiodic influence on the body mass of bumblebee, Bombus terrestris and its copulation duration. J. Appl. Entomol. 131(8): 537-541.
4. Amin MR, Than KK, Kwon YJ (2009) Copulation duration of bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Impacts on polyandry and colony parameters. J. Asia Pac. Entomol. 12: 141–144.
5. Amin MR, Than KK, Kwon YJ (2010) Mating status of bumblebees, Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with notes on ambient temperature, age and virginity. Appl. Entomol. Zool. 45(3): 363-367.
6. Amin MR, Bussiere LF, Goulson D (2012) Effects of male age and size on mating success in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. J. Insect Behav. 25: 362–374.
7. Baer B, Morgan ED, Schmid-Hempel P (2001) A non-specific fatty acid within the bumblebee mating plug prevents females from remating. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 98: 3926–3928.
8. Baer B (2003) Bumblebees as model organisms to study male sexual selection in social insects. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 55: 523–532.

9. Baer B, Schmid-Hempel P, Hoeg JT, Boomsma JJ (2003) Sperm length, sperm storage and mating system evolution in bumblebees. Insectes Soc. 50: 101–108.
10. Baer B, Schmid-Hempel P (2005) Sperm influences female hibernation success, survival and fitness in the bumble -bee Bombus terrestris. Proc. R. Soc. B. 272: 319-323.
11. Beekman M, van Stratum P, Lingeman R (1998) Diapause survival and post diapause performance in bumble bee queens. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 89: 207–214.
12. Brown MJF, Bear B, Schmid-Hempel R. Schmid-Hempel P (2002) Dynamics of multiple-mating in the bumble bee Bombus hypnorum. Insectes Soc. 49(4): 315–319.
13. Darvill B, Lepais O, Woodall LC, Goulson D (2012) Triploid bumblebees indicate a direct cost of inbreeding in fragmented populations. Mol. Ecol. 21: 3988–3995.
14. Djegham, Y., Verhaeghe, J.C., Rasmont, P., 1994. Copulation of Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Captivity. Journal of Apicultural Research, 33(1), 15-20.
15. Duchateau MJ, Hoshiba H, Velthuis HHW (1994) Diploid males in the bumble bee Bombus terrestris, sex determination, sex alleles and viability. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 71: 263–269.
16. Gillot C (2003) Male accessory gland secretions: Modulators of female reproductive physiology and behaviour. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 48: 163–184.
17. Gösterit A (2016) Adverse effects of inbreeding on colony foundation success in bumblebees, Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Appl. Entomol. Zool. 51(4): 521-526.
18. Gösterit A, Gürel F (2016) Male remating and its influences on queen colony foundation success in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris. Apidologie, 47(6): 828–834.
19. Gürel F, Gösterit A (2008) Effects of different starting methods on colony initiation and development of Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera; Apidae) queens. Appl. Entomol. Zool. 43(1): 113-117.
20. Heimpel GE, de Boer JG (2008) Sex determination in the Hymenoptera. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 53: 209–230.
21. Imran M, Ahmad M, Nasir MF, Saeed S (2015) Effect of different nest box materials on the mating of European bumblebee, Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) under controlled environmental conditions. Pak. J. Zool. 47(1): 241–247.
22. Jie W, Wenjun P, Jiandong A, Zhanbao G, Yueming T, Jilian L (2005) Techniques for year round rearing of Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera, Apidea) in China. J. Apic. Sci. 49(1): 65-69.
23. Koeniger G (1990) The role of the mating sign in honey bees, A. mellifera L.: does it hinder or promote multiple mating, Anim. Behav. 39: 444–449.
24. Kwon YJ, Amin MR, Suh SJ (2006) Mating propensity of Bombus terrestris reared in different photoperiodic regimes. Apidologie. 37: 679–686.
25. Maebe K, Meeus I, Ganne M, Wackers F, Smagghe G (2014) Scientific note on microsatellite DNA analyses revealing diploid and haploid drones in bumblebee mass breeding. Apidologie. 45: 189–191.
26. Oldroyd BJ, Rinderer TE, Harbo JR, Buco SM (1992) Effects of intracolonial genetic diversity on honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony performance. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 85: 335–343.
27. Röseler PF (1985) A technique for year-roundrearing of Bombus terrestris. (Apidae, Bombini) colonies in captivity. Apidologie. 16(2): 165-170.
28. Schmid-Hempel R, Schmid-Hempel P (2000) Female mating frequencies in Bombus spp. from central Europe. Insectes Soc. 47: 36-41.
29. Tasei JN, Moinard C, Moreau L, Himpens B, Guyonnaud S (1998) Relationship between aging, mating and sperm production in captive Bombus terrestris. J. Apic. Res. 37: 107–113
30. Velthuis HHW, van Doorn A (2006) A Century of advances in bumble bee domestication and the economic and environmental aspects of its commercialization for pollination. Apidologie. 37: 421-451.
31. Whitehorn PR, Tinsley MC, Goulson D (2009a) Kin recognition and inbreeding reluctance in bumblebees. Apidologie. 40: 627–633.
32. Whitehorn PR, Tinsley MC, Brown MJF, Darvill B, Goulson D (2009b) Impacts of inbreeding on bumblebee colony fitness under field conditions. Evol. Biol. 9: 152.
33. Williams PH (1998) An annotated checklist of bumble bees with an analysis of patterns of description (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini). Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Entomol. 67(1): 79-152.
34. Yoon HJ, Kim SE, Lee KY, Lee SB, Park IG, 2007. Mating conditions favorable for improving mating rate of the bumble bee, Bombus ignitus. Int. J. Indust. Entomol. 14(2): 107-114.