Nesting Behavior and Colony Description of the Neotropical Bombus (Thoracobombus) brevivillus in Northeastern Brazil

• Published in: Journal of insect behavior Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 297 - 302
• Main Authors: de Oliveira, Mikail Olinda, Cavalcante, Marcelo Casimiro, Freitas, Breno Magalhães
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.05.2015; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animal behavior; Animal Ecology; Animal populations; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bombus; breeding; captive animals; Entomology; Evolutionary Biology; Habitats; Indigenous species; insect behavior; Insects; Life Sciences; Nesting; Nesting behavior; nesting sites; nests; Neurobiology; Offspring; progeny; tropics; Brazil; nesting defense; tropical bumble bee; Colony size; nest traits
• ISSN: 0892-7553; 1572-8889
• DOI: 10.1007/s10905-015-9502-8

Here we describe for the first time the nesting behavior and the colony of Bombus (Thoracobombus) brevivillus, a Neotropical species native only to South America. We discovered and observed seven B. brevivillus colonies between August and September 2012 in the state of Ceará, NE Brazil. Observations showed that B. brevivillus seems to be opportunistic in relation to nesting sites and brood protection, even though there is meager investment in nest building and offspring protection. Observations suggest that may be young B. brevivillus colonies invest strongly in brood production and colony development, before reproducing. More studies are necessary to evaluate the feasibility of captivity breeding of this species.