Larval feeding by adult bumble bee workers (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Summary Laboratory studies on colonies of Bombus terrestris (L.) and B. terricola Kby. showed that while the overall rate of larval feeding is highly correlated with total larval biomass, feeding of individual larvae is only weakly regulated. Nevertheless, the temporal distributions of inspections and feedings to larvae by adult nurse bees did provide evidence for a feedback mechanism.The behavior of individual workers engaged in larval feeding is highly contagious through time. A laboratory colony of B. terrestris compensated for the effect of experimental removal of half the worker population by increases in the feeding rate of individual workers. The results appear to be consistent with recent suggestions that overall colony performance is a mass effect resulting from the partially stochastic operations of its individual components.