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Wing Wear (wing + wear)
Selected AbstractsWing wear, aerodynamics and flight energetics in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris): an experimental studyFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2001A. Hedenström Summary 1,Previous work has shown that wing wear increases mortality rate in bumblebees. Two proximate explanations have been suggested to account for this: increased energy flight costs and increased predation risk due to reduced manoeuvrability. 2,Wing wear was mimicked by experimentally clipping the forewing distal trailing edge, causing a 10% wing area reduction. Experimental and sham control bumblebees were induced to hover in a flight respirometry chamber for measuring metabolic rate of hovering. Simultaneous video and sound recordings were taken for wingbeat kinematic data required for an aerodynamic analysis. 3,In the experimental group with reduced wing area we measured increased wingbeat frequency, lift coefficient and induced power, but a reduced profile power. The mechanical power output, assuming perfect elastic storage in the flight system, remained largely unchanged after the wing-trimming treatment. 4,Metabolic flight costs (CO2 production rate) did not increase significantly in the reduced wing area group, which is in line with the aerodynamic power output. 5,Our results indicate that an increase of flight cost due to wing wear is not a likely explanation for increased mortality rate in bumblebees. Wing wear may, however, affect escape performance from predators. [source] Reproductive hierarchies in the African allodapine bee Allodapula dichroa (Apidae: Xylocopinae) and ancestral forms of socialityBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009SIMON M. TIERNEY The social organization of allodapine bees has been described in detail for most genera, although there remains a notable gap for one major lineage, the genus Allodapula. Here, we provide the first detailed study of social organization in Allodapula dichroa. Colony sizes are small and the frequency of cooperative nesting is low compared with other allodapine taxa, but there is very clear evidence for reproductive differentiation among adult nestmates. Reproductively dominant females tend to be larger than their nestmates and have much higher levels of wing wear, suggesting that they perform most foraging activities. Multi-female colonies have: (1) lower rates of complete brood absence, suggesting a substantial benefit to cooperative nesting; and (2) larger numbers of brood, suggesting that the presence of a second adult female leads to a greater reproductive output. These data suggest a major phylogenetic split in the form of social organization within the allodapines. In the genus Macrogalea (sister clade to all other allodapines), body size does not preclude young females from laying eggs, and there appears to be, at most, weak reproductive queues. However, in most other allodapines, reproductive hierarchies are prominent and younger and/or smaller females queue for reproductive opportunities, adopt permanently subordinate roles, or disperse. Interestingly, the most common forms of reproductive hierarchies in allodapines do not involve subordinates undertaking foraging roles before reproduction, but instead involve the delaying of both reproduction and foraging. This has implications for the understanding of suggested developmental ground plans in the early stages of social evolution. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 97, 520,530. [source] | ||||||||||