Bumblebees on the move
Bumblebee fitted with radio transmitter.
By mounting small radio transmitters on bumblebees, researchers at Aarhus University can reveal where the bees go foraging. And although bumblebees are among the most important wild pollinators in Europe and North America, there are becoming fewer and fewer of them. This can have significant financial consequences because tomatoes, fruit trees, clover fields and many other crops are totally dependent on being visited by these insects. If we learn about the flight and food preferences of the bumblebees, we will hopefully be able to stop the decline in their numbers.
2011.06.23
The radio transmitters glued on the bumblebees weigh about 200 mg.
Melanie Hagen, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, and Martin Wikelski, Max Planck Institute, Germany, glue a radio transmitter on the back of a bumblebee.
Mounting a radio transmitter on a bumblebee is precision work.
Melanie Hagen receives a signal from bumblebees fitted with radio transmitters.
For the first time ever, scientists at Aarhus University in Denmark and the Max Planck Institute in Germany have succeeded in attaching a very small radio transmitter to a bumblebee. The transmitter maps the bees’ routes and traces the path flown by them through the countryside, just as the researchers can see which plants the bumblebees prefer to land on.
Heavily laden
Bumblebees are used to flying with a heavy load. They often fly with amounts of pollen and nectar that are the equivalent of their own weight. The researchers were therefore confident when they developed a 200 mg radio transmitter that could be glued on the backs of the bumblebees, which weighed between 200 and 450 mg in this experiment.
“Using this method, we were able to trace the path flown by the bumblebees in the countryside for the first time ever,” say Melanie Hagen, Daniel Kissling (Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University) and Martin Wikelski (Max Planck Institute, Radolfzell, Germany), who are responsible for the results recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.
The first results show that bumblebees fly up to two and a half kilometres from their nests. They come back repeatedly to certain groups of flowers and trees during the course of the day. They like to follow natural lines such as hedgerows when they are flying, and they often rest on particular trees and bushes while foraging.
The bees possibly rest because the weight of the transmitters is too much for them after all. The researchers are therefore focusing their efforts on making even smaller radio transmitters so the bumblebees can fly more freely.
When the heat is on
Accompanied by Professor Jens Mogens Olesen, the research team is leaving soon for Tenerife to carry out the next experiment on radio-tracked bumblebees. There is only one species of bumblebee on the island of Tenerife. By measuring the activity and pollen foraging of the busy bees at different heights, the researchers can gain insight into the impact of temperature on their activity.
Video of bumblebees with radio transmitters
In Danish:
In English:
For more information, please contact
Postdoctoral Scientist Melanie Hagen
Department of Bioscience
Aarhus University
melanie.hagen@biology.au.dk
More reading
Read the article in PLoS ONE: Space Use of Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) Revealed by Radio-Tracking
Great international recognition of Torben Heick Jensen
2012.05.09 — Professor Torben Heick Jensen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, has achieved great international recognition with his nomination as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). The election to EMBO is in recognition of Professor Jensen’s outstanding research within gene expression.
Royal visit to Aarhus University – two Joachims and 20,000 ants
2012.05.01 — Prins Joachim visited Aarhus University’s Silkeborg department on Friday 27 April. Senior Scientist Joachim Offenberg, Department of Bioscience, explained how weaver ants are used in ecological pest control. Read more (in Danish only).
Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education waved goodbye to mother-in-law’s house
2012.04.27 — Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education Morten Østergaard was faced by facts when he visited Aarhus University for the Festival of Research. The MADALGO basic research centre and the EcoSense research group showed the minister how computer science research addresses this year’s theme – EUROPE’S CHALLENGES.
Your subject portal – all study information concentrated in one place
2012.03.29 — From Wednesday 28 March, you can find all information about teaching, examinations, timetable, course enrolment, student counselling and career guidance, and much more at your subject portal.
Grants for studies or research in the USA
2012.02.28 — The Denmark-America Foundation & the Fulbright Commission offer grants to Danish citizens to undertake study or research programmes at graduate level in the USA. The grants amount to DKK 85,000–100,000.
Lecturers wanted for ‘Science pays a visit’, 24–28 September
2012.02.28 — The Danish Science Week requires skilled lecturers to be part of a team giving talks about science at schools throughout Denmark from 24 to 28 September.
Unique pump in sperm cells makes a difficult journey possible
2012.05.01 — In his PhD work, Michael Jakob Voldsgaard Clausen made a detailed study of a molecular pump that is essential for sperm cells and is not found in other types of cells. The job of a sperm cell is to carry genetic information from a male to a female. In order to carry out this project, the cell has to travel from the testicle to the ovary, where both the pH value and salt concentrations are drastically altered. His results show that this pump is specific to sperm cells and is adapted to be able to maintain stable activity in conditions in which there are changes to the salt concentrations and the membrane potential of the cell. In time, it is possible that his results could be used in developing a birth control pill for men. Michael Clausen defended his dissertation on 23 April 2012. PhD supervisors: Professor Poul Nissen and Postdoctoral Research Associate Hanne Poulsen. Listen to the interview with Michael Clausen on Radio24syv (in Danish) about his results. (The interview starts 45.22 min into the broadcast). More information Michael Jakob Voldsgaard ClausenDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmarkmjc@mb.au.dk
2012.02.15 — Biologists are concerned about climate change impact, and they predict that a range of flora and fauna will disappear from Denmark within a few years. Hear Jens-Christian Svenning talk about climate change research at Aarhus University (in Danish only).
Play computer games and help research
2012.01.22 — Jacob Sherson, postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is developing a computer game where users can ‘play’ their way to answers to the most difficult research problems. On 17 January, he took part in Videnskabens Verden (Science World) on radio P1. Read more and hear the broadcast (in Danish only) here.