Lecture 12

Question 0

What is fitness?

Answer 0

The number of offspring produced by an individual that survive themselves to reproduce in the next generation

Question 1

What assumption is made when looking at optimal foraging theory?

Answer 1

The behaviours observed have been subject to natural selection

Question 2

What season do bumblebees start work?

Answer 2

Early in the spring

Question 3

Are honeybees perennial?

Answer 3

Yes

Question 4

Are bumblebees perennial?

Answer 4

No they are annual

Question 5

Describe the life cycle of a typical bumblebee colony

Answer 5

In spring ghe queen leaves her hibernation site and looks for a nest site
In the nest the queen builds a wax container and fills it with honey then lays some eggs
Eggs hatch and feed on pollen
The queen incubates the larvae
New workers emerge and more eggs are laid, when foraging level is achieved the colony switches from producing females to producing males and queens
Males leave the nest
Queen mates with remaining males who then die
The old Queen dies

Question 6

What is the function of the workers in a bumblebee hive?

Answer 6

Improve input and output

Question 7

How does a bumblebee regulate body temperature?

Answer 7

By contracting and expanding the abdomen. When the abdomen contracts air and blood is pushed into the thorax and vice versa. This regulates the temperature of the thorax, where the majority of vital organs are located.

Question 8

Describe an experiment to show that a bumblebee maintains the temperature of it’s thorax

Answer 8

Thorax heated with a spotlight
     Thorax temp maintained
     Abdomen temp rises
Thorax heated with a spotlight when heart is inactive
     Thorax temp raises and bee dies

Question 9

How do bumblebees generate heat using their flight muscles?

Answer 9

They detach their flight muscles from their wings and vibrate them

Question 10

How many calories does a bumblebee use per a minute?

Answer 10

0.25 calories per minute