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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

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Olfactory eavesdropping between two competing stingless bee species.

Elinor M Lichtenberg, Michael Hrncir, Izabel C Turatti

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

|April 9, 2011

Summary

Social insects use pheromone trails to find food. Competing bee species eavesdrop on each other

Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Chemical Ecology
Insect Behavior

Background:

Foraging animals use social information to enhance efficiency and fitness.
Social information use is well-studied in predator-prey dynamics but less understood within trophic levels.
Eavesdropping on signals by unintended recipients can drive evolutionary pressures on signaling systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate eavesdropping between two competing stingless bee species.
To identify the glandular source and chemical composition of a recruitment pheromone.
To examine reciprocal responses to heterospecific pheromone signals.

Main Methods:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze pheromone composition.
Preference tests to assess behavioral responses to pheromones.

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Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

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Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

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Published on: February 24, 2013

SwarmSight: Real-time Tracking of Insect Antenna Movements and Proboscis Extension Reflex Using a Common Preparation and Conventional Hardware

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Published on: December 25, 2017

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

Observation of foraging behavior in competing stingless bee species.

Main Results:

The recruitment pheromone of Trigona hyalinata contains six carboxylic esters, with octyl octanoate being a major component.
Both Trigona hyalinata and Trigona spinipes can detect each other's recruitment pheromones.
Dominant T. hyalinata avoided T. spinipes pheromone, while subordinate T. spinipes showed no preference.

Conclusions:

Stingless bees may use eavesdropping to avoid costly conflicts.
Behavioral responses to heterospecific pheromones can be influenced by dominance hierarchies.
Pheromone eavesdropping plays a role in interspecific competition and resource competition among social insects.