Cracking the Code Behind Bumblebee Colonies & Food Systems

Harnessing the hive mind.

UBC Okanagan researchers have created a mathematical model to explain how bumblebee colonies budget their energy — from brood rearing to foraging.

This model could improve how scientists understand insect behaviour, ecosystem resilience, and the impacts of climate stress on pollinators critical to food systems.

"The novelty is in treating the colony as a collective entity, not tracking individual bees. By modelling how the whole system allocates energy to survive, grow and reproduce, we can test how different environmental conditions influence long-term colony health.” Dr. Foxall.   

— Dr. Eric Foxall, UBC Okanagan

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