Facing the heat: behavioral and molecular underpinnings of heat stress in bumblebees

Abstract

Climate change heralds an era of increased heat waves. Insects, due to their short generation times and their sensitive ecological requirements, offer a powerful model for studying rapid physiological and behavioral responses to high temperatures. Solitary insects primarily respond to temperature extremes by moving in space or time to remain in a constant environment or by exploiting phenotypic plasticity or evolutionary adaptation. Eusocial insects, however, possess an additional tool in mitigating thermal stress: cooperative group behavior. Here, we discuss how bumblebees (Bombus) in particular exemplify the ways in which social living systems can buffer against environmental challenges. We focus on the urgent gap in understanding bumblebee responses to high heat and propose additional studies and analytic frameworks to facilitate the identification of conserved behavioral and neural mechanisms to heat stress.