Brood comb and bumblebees

How does a tortrix moth affect a bumblebee nest?

V time dependencies, in which the cuckoo bee invades a bumblebee nest, is nest weakened, or cease to exist prematurely (no sexually mature individuals are born in it). Very It also depends on the size of the moth. and also on quantity of eggs, which it is capable of laying. Similarly, the fate of the nest depends on whether it is a individual attack, or attack of more weevils. Very often in nature, an attack on a nest ends fatally. 

Better chance of survival have Nests of early bumblebee species, for example, the early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum), or alternatively the garden bumblebee (Bombus hortorum). The moth is active from May to August.
At this time, the nests of early bumblebee species from the first generation have mostly produced reproductive individuals, and the moth will not manage to eliminate them. It will therefore primarily attack nests in their final stages and will not fundamentally harm the new generation of these bumblebee species.

Greater damage pest moth on in the nests of later species, such as the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), the red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and the brown-banded carder bee (Bombus pascuorum). For these species, the wax moth will find sufficient food in the form of bumblebee larvae and comb. Because the bumblebees cannot defend themselves against the wax moth, it is entirely up to the wax moth whether the nest is reduced or destroyed.

Tortrix can eliminate even a strong bumblebee nest . This happens primarily in cases of repeated attacks, or when attacked by a strong moth mother. What is very interesting is that The size of the mother hawk-moth can vary a lot. This is also reflected in the number of eggs it lays in the nest.

Interesting facts:

• Sometimes wax moth larvae can have plenty of wax material available (in nests that have plenty of food, especially pollen, and are therefore large with high wax production) and the bumblebee nest will only be weakened by the moth.
• According to May, bumblebees are capable of attacking a wax moth caterpillar in the nest. However, it is able to hide and subsequently lay eggs after absorbing the scent of the nest. Although bumblebees are capable of easily eliminating even large wax moth caterpillars with their mandibles, they do not do so for some reason. The reason could be the absorption of the nest's scent, which then provides the wax moth caterpillars with perfect camouflage.
  However, we have never personally observed an attack by bumblebees on butterflies and larvae, and therefore we only mention it as Interesting fact.
• If an adult wax moth is agitated or threatened, it will drop to the ground and feign death. This is likely advantageous when infiltrating a host wasp or bee nest, as the host is unlikely to attack the wax moth if it believes the moth is dead.
• The number of wax moth attacks on bumblebee nests appears to be on the rise. Bumblebee breeders are finding greater wax moth caterpillars spun into the thermal insulation (polystyrene) of nests. The caterpillars are capable of chewing through this material and seemingly consuming it. Spun caterpillars have also been found in the thermal insulation of houses, and it is therefore possible that they are managing to live there as well. We are reluctant to believe that the caterpillars are able to feed on this material, however, we will continue to monitor this.