Woodlands Facilitate Reproductive Behaviour and Niche Partitioning in Farmland Bumblebee Communities

L. Across species, activity levels in the two sun-exposed habitats (relative to the understory) were highly positively correlated with each other, and the most light-sensitive species were more active in the understory. Additionally, the reproductive castes were more active in the understory than workers, especially when temperatures reached heatwave thresholds. These results suggest that woodlands (1) support bumblebee reproductive behaviour, (2) have played a key role in facilitating niche differentiation, mediated by the provision of shade and (3) could be important for maintaining bumblebee diversity in agricultural landscapes-and under a warming climate-with attendant benefits for pollination services.