The degree of parasitism of the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) by cuckoo bumblebees (Bombus (Psithyrus) vestalis)

@article{Erler2010TheDO,
  title={The degree of parasitism of the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) by cuckoo bumblebees (Bombus (Psithyrus) vestalis)},
  author={Silvio Erler and H. Michael G. Lattorff},
  journal={Insectes Sociaux},
  year={2010},
  volume={57},
  pages={371-377}
}
Host–parasite systems are characterised by coevolutionary arms races between host and parasite. Parasites are often the driving force, as they replicate much faster than their hosts and have shorter generation times and larger population sizes, resulting in higher mutation rates per time interval. This scenario does not fit all host–parasite systems. Socially parasitic cuckoo bumblebees (Bombus (Psithyrus) vestalis) parasitise colonies of Bombus terrestris share most life history… 
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Background Citations
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27 Citations

The Rarity of Host Species Affects the Co-Extinction Risk in Socially Parasitic Bumblebee Bombus (Psithyrus) Species

It is found that cuckoo bumblebees species are more vulnerable to extinction than their hosts, and it is important to conserve their bumblebee host species.

Monitoring of parasites in bumblebee colonies developed from controlled nesting of wild queens (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus)

This 10-year study is based on 327 nests of seven bumblebee species and encourages further studies to actively seek for parasite-preventing techniques to reduce artificial nest spoilage and to mitigate spill-over towards wild populations.

Sex, horizontal transmission, and multiple hosts prevent local adaptation of Crithidia bombi, a parasite of bumblebees (Bombus spp.)

Although there was no evidence for local adaptation of the parasite toward host species, there was a slight temporal differentiation of the parasites populations, which might have resulted from severe bottlenecks during queen hibernation.

Seasonal variability of prevalence and occurrence of multiple infections shape the population structure of Crithidia bombi, an intestinal parasite of bumblebees (Bombus spp.)

Seasonal fluctuations in prevalence and the occurrence of multiple infections of the gut parasite Crithidia bombi were analyzed in repeatedly sampled populations of two common bumblebee (Bombus spp.) species and selection appears to relax and a recovery in linkage equilibrium is observed.

Species richness of cuckoo bumblebees is determined by the geographical range area of the host bumblebee

Support is found for the hypothesis that the geographical range area of the host bumblebee species has an effect on the species richness of cuckoo bumblebees.

Bumblebee-mediated pollination of English populations of the Military Orchid (Orchis militaris): its possible relevance to functional morphology, life history and climate change

It is suggested that bumblebees (Bombus spp.) may have become the primary pollinators of the orchid at the site and models of pollination ecology should consider the caste and life history of the relevant insect.

Effective population size as a driver for divergence of an antimicrobial peptide (Hymenoptaecin) in two common European bumblebee species

The effect of Ne on the evolutionary rate of an important immune gene for the antimicrobial peptide Hymenoptaecin in two common central European bumblebee species is tested, finding high intraspecific variability in the coding sequence but low variability for silent polymorphisms in B. terrestris.

Ecology and Evolution of Cuckoo Bumble Bees

Abstract Most social insect lineages contain socially parasitic cheater species that, rather than produce their own workers, infiltrate the nests of closely related social species and force the hosts…

The Persistence of Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Northeastern Texas

This study performs field surveys of bumble bees in northeastern Texas and compares those data to historical specimen records to evaluate the current status of historically present species and establish current bumble bee persistence in northeast Texas.

Small effective population sizes of bee social parasites compared to their hosts raise important questions for evolutionary arms race

It is shown that inquiline species have Nes that are about an order of magnitude lower than their hosts, so explaining the evolutionary persistence of social parasitism poses a major puzzle for evolutionary biology.

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