06 March, 2019

Busier bees: increasing nest traffic in commercial bumblebee colonies


by Callum D. Martin, Callum Toner, Michelle T. Fountain, Mark J. F. Brown


Commercial bumblebee foraging on a strawberry flower © Martin
Commercially reared bumblebee colonies are used to provide pollination services to a variety of crops. For example, in the UK approximately 15,000 bumblebee (Bombus terrestris audax) colonies are imported for use on soft fruit farms (e.g. strawberry, raspberry, blueberry). Before being placed into crops, these colonies are reared in large scale industrial facilities. When the colonies reach an appropriate size, they are distributed to farms around the world.


Read the whole summary in: English!
Read the scientific publication in JPE.