Immune defence in bumble-bee offspring

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Abstract
Immune-challenged vertebrate females transfer specific antibodies to their offspring1,2,3, but this gratuitous immunity cannot operate in invertebrates4. Here we show that constitutive immune defence is enhanced in sexual offspring of the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris L. when the parental colony is immune-challenged. Our findings indicate that invertebrates may use a different component of the immune system to generate a facultative trans-generational increase in the immune response.