SD57: Thermal performance curves for eusocial insects: Individual and group responses to temperature in bumble bees

Temperature profoundly affects all aspects of life history of insects from reproductive behavior to development and adult performance. Though insect responses to temperature are classically considered within a thermal performance curve framework, for many insects only the extremes of the performance curve are measured (e.g. upper and lower lethal temperatures or critical thermal limits). Measuring performance of various aspects of life history for individual insects across a range of temperatures is challenging. The challenge is compounded for social insects: responses of individuals to temperature may depend on the presence of conspecifics. Further, heterothermic insects can decouple body temperature from ambient, further modifying responses to ambient temperatures. Here I ask how rates of movement of bumble bees vary with core temperature, ambient temperature, and group size. These data provide the foundation for more robust and realistic thermal performance curves for a eusocial heterotherm.