Deconstructing and contextualizing foraging behavior in bumble bees and other central place foragers

Bumble bee foragers provide essential pollination services in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, foraging is not monolithic; rather, it is a complex behavior encompassing multiple phases that utilize different sensory cues and decision-making processes. Understanding how the interplay of spatial scale and forager experience interact with behavioral state to modulate what sensory information is necessary across foraging phases is a critical component of understanding how anthropogenic modifications to the environment impact bumble bee ecology and conservation. The lack of a comprehensive framework and common vocabulary characterizing foraging behaviors can result in difficulty interpreting and applying experimental findings in the literature. This manuscript proposes a scaffolding framework for foraging behaviors organized by behavioral states and state-transitions, spatial scale, and experience to facilitate more clarity in interpretation and design of future foraging studies. Given the similarities between bumble bees and other central place foragers, this framework has broad applicability.