Does soil temperature predict bumble bee queen emergence in spring?
Bumble bee queens hibernate throughout the winter by burying
themselves in the ground. In the spring they emerge from their
hibernation and begin looking for nest sites. Researchers have
noticed that some species tend to wake up from hibernation earlier
than others. The timing of when different species wake up from
hibernation could be related to soil temperature; perhaps early
emerging species hibernate in the top layers of soil which could
warm up faster than deeper layers waking them up faster.
To test the impact of soil temperature on queen bumble bee emergence
timing, we surveyed for bumble bee queens, while simultaneously
measuring soil temperature at different depths.
In our preliminary analyses we found that some species, particularly early emerging species may respond to soil temperature, while later emerging species may respond more to air temperature.
In our preliminary analyses we found that some species, particularly early emerging species may respond to soil temperature, while later emerging species may respond more to air temperature.
