It was long thought that queen bumblebees, after hibernating in the ground over winter, emerged, began feeding and dispersed quite quickly to found their new colony.
It was long thought that queen bumblebees, after hibernating in the ground over winter, emerged, began feeding and dispersed quite quickly to found their new colony.
But new research shows that directly after hibernation, queen bumblebees spend the majority of their time hiding and resting amongst dead leaves and grass.
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests that this behaviour of long rests with short intermittent flights explains how queen bumblebees find themselves far away from their natal nest.
Dr James Makinson, who co-led the study at Queen Mary University of London but is now based at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, said: “We wanted to see what queens actually do right after they emerge. By combining state-of-the-art tracking technology with wild bee observations, we were able to uncover a never before seen behaviour of queen bumblebees."
Read more at Queen Mary University of London
Image: Queen bumblebee (Credit: Joe Woodgate)
