Bumblebees are important pollinating insects, but many species have suffered declines over the last century. Long-tongued bumblebees have been identified as particularly at risk, partly due to their more selective diet. Attempts to study these species in captivity have been impeded by stress-induced behaviours which cause queens to kill or abandon their brood. Here, we attempt to further develop techniques, using queen pairing and Bombus terrestris cocoons, to successfully rear two common long-tongued bumblebee species ( B. pascuorum and B. hortorum ) in captivity. Approximately half of queens laid eggs and 29% produced workers. Although challenges remain, there is a great deal to be gained from optimising the captive rearing of these species.

中文翻译：

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实验室条件下饲养长舌大黄蜂的试验技术

大黄蜂是重要的传粉昆虫，但许多物种在上个世纪遭受了衰退。长舌大黄蜂已被确定为特别危险，部分原因是它们的饮食更具选择性。研究这些圈养物种的尝试受到压力引起的行为的阻碍，这些行为会导致蚁后杀死或遗弃它们的后代。在这里，我们尝试进一步开发技术，使用蜂王配对和 Bombus terrestris 茧，成功地圈养两种常见的长舌熊蜂（B. pascuorum 和 B. hortorum）。大约一半的蜂后产卵，29% 的蜂王产卵。尽管挑战依然存在，但优化这些物种的圈养饲养可以带来很多好处。