Estimating colony locations of bumble bees with moving average model

Abstract

It is very difficult to find natural colonies of bumble bees in the field. In this study, the yearly dynamics of floral resources and foraging bumble bee workers were investigated. The optimal colony locations were estimated from the data using moving average on the assumption that bumble bee queens and workers were omniscient. Fortunately, a colony of Bombus ardens was found, and the true location of the colony was evaluated with the estimated optimal locations. The true location was optimal at the latter half of the breeding season.