Abstract
CNAANI J, WONG A & THOMSON J D [Dep Zool, Univ Toronto, Ont, Canada]: Effect of Group Size on Ovarian Development in Bumblebee Workers (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus). - Entomol Gener 29(2/4): 305-314; Stuttgart 2007-01. --- [Note] Isolated bumblebee workers. Bombus impatiens Cresson 1863, developed their ovaries to produce laying-sized eggs in 11 days, but did so 5 days faster in queenless groups of 2-12 that they came to dominate. In groups larger than pairs, reproductive dominance (as measured by oocyte length) was distributed continuously in a graded hierarchy, rather than dichotomously. In groups, workers at a particular dominance rank position developed larger oocytes as group size increased, indicating that a focal bee's stimulus for reproductive development depends on the number of other bees that are subordinate to it. Attempts to relate ovarian development to visible behavioral manifestations of dominance were inconclusive because antagonistic interaction were infrequent.
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