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Data for: Sunflower pollen diets reduce infection in closely related bumble bee species

McCormick, Elyse1; Adler, Lynn1

Published Dec 10, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.59zw3r2p0

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Abstract

Parasite growth and infection success are often influenced by host diet. Consuming sunflower pollen (Helianthus annuus) dramatically reduces infection by the trypanosomatid gut parasite Crithidia in the model bumble bee species Bombus impatiens, as well as two of its relatives in the subgenus Pyrobombus. However, only five Bombus species out of 265 species globally have been assessed, making results difficult to generalize. We examined how consuming sunflower pollen affects Crithidia infection in two previously untested species of bumble bees in the subgenus Pyrobombus, Bombus perplexus and Bombus ternarius, compared to wild-caught B. impatiens. Infected bees were fed either monofloral sunflower pollen, or monofloral buckwheat pollen (Fagopyrum esculentum) as a control for seven days, after which we counted the number of Crithidia cells in the gut and compared infection intensity between buckwheat and sunflower diets in these three species, while also examining how much of each diet they consumed, and the amount of sucrose solution they consumed. We found that sunflower pollen significantly reduced Crithidia infection in B. impatiens, with comparable significant effects in B. perplexus and B. ternarius. None of these effects were influenced by the quantity of pollen or sucrose consumed. These results demonstrate that, at least for its close relatives, B. impatiens is a good model species for understanding the effects of diet on host interactions with a common gut parasite.