Male-biased night foraging by bumblebees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus spp.) in Taiwan

By

Hsieh, Yun-Chen
Huang, Joe Chun-Chia
Yeh, Wen-Chi
Tsai, Chun-Yang
Lin, Chien Jun
Lu, Sheng-Shan

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

96

Pages

949--954

Subjects

Bombus flavescens , nocturnal behavior , sex-biased

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.113486

 

Abstract

Known nocturnal behaviors of bees in the superfamily Apoidea, including the genus Bombus, were almost exclusively of females. Here we report observations of active free-ranging male Bombus at night in the plant nursery of the Fushan Research Center, Taiwan, in April 2022. Nectar feeding by males at inflorescences was confirmed by tongue-licking in the absence of pollen collecting. The numbers of active female and male bumblebees during the daytime were close to equal. In contrast, only males were found to be active in the night. Our observations suggest that such nocturnal activity is facultative. This finding not only provides a rare case of nocturnal activity in free-ranging Bombus, but also demonstrates that such behaviors can vary between the sexes.