Entomology & Insect Science

Integrating behavior and physiology, my dissertation is aimed at understanding the energetics involved in generating and maintaining a division of labor in highly social groups. The bumble bee Bombus impatiens, will be my study organism. Division of labor in bumble bees is based primarily on body size. In life history theory, body size is an important trait that affects the fitness of many organisms; it affects lifespan, metabolism, locomotive capabilities, etc. I am interested in how body size has been exploited for division of labor in social insects. I will investigate: 1) the energetic costs of producing different sized workers and the behavioral benefits that are associated with those costs, 2) the energetic efficiencies of task performance by different sized workers, 3) the locomotive endurance of different sized workers, and 4) how availability of energetic resources (food) affects worker production at the colony level.