Bumble Bees are Attracted to Moth Pheromone Traps

Photo: Bumble bee foraging on canola flower in Alberta, Canada. Credit: Monica Kohler

A new study by Jess Manson and colleague documents how the use of moth pheromone traps in crop fields lead to unintentional capture of hundreds of bumble bees. Although these traps use pheromone compounds that are generally species specific, the study finds that bees are responding to specific classes of pheromones that have structural similarities to compounds produced by male bumble bees trying to attract queens. Read more here.