The effect of bumble bee gynes' reproductive status on the response to CO2 narcosis

Many organisms undergo extreme physiological and behavioral changes that dictate their responses to different stimuli during their life cycle. Bumble bees (Bombus sp.) display an annual life cycle, in which the virgin gynes emerge, disperse, mate, and undergo several months of winter diapause before...

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Published inJournal of apicultural research Vol. 62; no. 5; pp. 1043 - 1051
Main Authors Seltzer, Rya, Domer, Adi, Bodner, Levona, Bouchebti, Sofia, Malka, Maya, Amsalem, Etya, Levin, Eran
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis 20.10.2023
Subjects
Bumble bee
diapause
mating
metabolic rate
narcosis
stable isotopes
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Summary:Many organisms undergo extreme physiological and behavioral changes that dictate their responses to different stimuli during their life cycle. Bumble bees (Bombus sp.) display an annual life cycle, in which the virgin gynes emerge, disperse, mate, and undergo several months of winter diapause before establishing new colonies in the spring. CO 2 narcosis induces a direct transition from mating to reproduction, thus diapause can be bypassed. The mechanism underlying the response to CO 2 narcosis remains unclear. Here, we used Bombus terrestris gynes in different reproductive statuses (virgin, mated, and post-diapause) to examine the effect of CO 2 narcosis on ovarian development, body mass, protein uptake, and metabolic rate. We found that the impact of CO 2 narcosis on gynes was inhibited by mating, with virgin gynes showing the strongest effect of CO 2 narcosis on ovary activation and protein turnover. We show that mating inhibits the effect of CO 2 narcosis prior to the diapause period, suggesting that this effect is upstream to that of CO 2 narcosis.
ISSN:0021-8839
2078-6913
DOI:10.1080/00218839.2023.2242125