Fatty Acids as a Potential Foraging Cue in Bumblebee Pollen Detection

Bee populations, both wild and commercially supplied, are on the decline. A diminishing availability of required nutritional components may be a major contributing factor. Understanding how bees are able to both detect and remember the locations of these dietary macromolecules will be a valuable contribution to sustainability efforts worldwide. To learn more about how bees detect and assess necessary pollen fats, I explored the potential of bees to form associations between these nutrients and visual stimuli. I found strong evidence that bees can detect pollen based fatty acids and that the presence of these compounds increases bee learning and perhaps memory. Additionally, I found evidence suggesting that fatty acid consumption may increase bee longevity. My research suggests that pollen fats are a chemical attractant potentially important to pollinator species.

Name thesis:degree_name

Biology

Level thesis:degree_level

Honors Thesis

Grantor

University of Nevada, Reno

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Breslow, Phillip R.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Muth, Felicity
• Leonard, Anne S.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright(All Rights Reserved)

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11714/540

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarwolf.unr.edu:11714/540