STUDIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BROODS OF BOMBUS DIVERSUS SMITH (Hymenoptera, Apidae) : II. Brood development and feeding habits
スポンサーリンク
概要
- 論文の詳細を見る
The present paper deals with the brood development and feeding habits in three colonies of Bombus (Diversobombus) diversus Smith kept in the artificial hives in Yaita City, Tochigi Pref., Japan. The results of observations are summarized as follows : 1) The duration of each developmental stage is as follows (in days) : colony B : egg 4-5, larva 7-9, pupa (including prepupa) 10-12, total 22-24. colony C : egg 4-8 (mostly 4-6), larva 6-9 (mostly 6-8), pupa 10-12, total 20-25 (mostly 22-24). 2) The workers construct the pollen pocket at one side of the brood cell soon after the hatching out of the larvae. In most cases 2 pockets are made in one cell. The pocket is usually removed in about 5 days after hatching out. The pocket changes its size parallel to the growth of the larvae (cf. Table 3). 3) Like as in other bumblebees the larvae dwell gregariously in the cell till cocoon spinning. The larval cells are 5-6.5 mm in diameter soon after hatching out and since 3 days after hatching out the position of each larva in the cell is detectable from outside of the cell as swellings. On 4 days after hatching out the larvae spin thin silken partition walls between themselves. The brood cell is dark brown soon after hatching out, becoming gradually paler and finally changes almost yellow just before cocoon spinning. The change of the size of cells is given in Table 4. 4) The duration of cocoon spinning is relatively constant, lasting mostly one day. The coloration of cocoons is at first bright or sulfur yellow with dark brown spots of wax not scratched off, later changing into dark brown on about 8-9 days after cocoon spinning. The cocoons developed from one egg-cell did not separate from one another, forming a group of cocoons. 5) The emergence from the same batch is relatively synchronous, taking 3 days for all adult bees. On emergence adult bees gnaw the wall of the cocoon from inside of the cocoon and other bees often help them to make the way out of the cocoon. 6) The pollen mass deposited into the pocket is kneaded with nectar and plastered to the pollen bed beneath the larvae by house bees. The larvae consume completely the pollen mass deposited into the pocket within about 5 days after hatching out. Thereafter, the remaining pollen mass is eaten by adult bees when they remove the pocket. 7) Adult bees occasionally feed both the worker and male larvae by means of the direct regurgitation through a hole made on the top of the cell which is closed soon after the regurgitation. In general the regurgitation is made only to the middle stage or older larvae of 4 to 5 days old, seldom to the younger ones.
- 日本昆虫学会の論文
- 1966-04-20