Why is the reproductive season of the Bombus vestalis shorter than that of non-parasitic bees?
Answer
They inherit a functional workforce and skip the colony founding stage
Because the parasitic queen takes over an existing nest, she does not have to spend energy founding a colony, collecting initial pollen, or tending to the first clutch of larvae. This head start allows the parasitic colony to begin producing new reproductive individuals much earlier in the season than standard, non-parasitic bumblebee colonies, which must build everything from the ground up.
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