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Context affects nestmate recognition errors in honey bees and stingless bees.

Margaret J Couvillon1, Francisca H I D Segers, Roseanne Cooper-Bowman

  • 1Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK. M.Couvillon@Sussex.ac.uk

The Journal of Experimental Biology
|April 27, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Nestmate recognition errors in bees are context-dependent. Guards at the hive entrance make fewer errors than those in artificial test arenas, highlighting the importance of natural environments for accurate discrimination.

Keywords:
Apis melliferaTetragonisca angustulaacceptance thresholdeusocial beesocial insects

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Social Insects

Background:

  • Nestmate recognition is crucial for social insect colony integrity.
  • Previous studies on nestmate recognition used diverse methods and contexts, potentially leading to variable results.
  • Recognition errors are hypothesized to be influenced by environmental context.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare nestmate recognition accuracy in two bee species (Apis mellifera and Tetragonisca angustula) across different contexts.
  • To investigate the impact of colony odor and additional nestmates on recognition accuracy in artificial settings.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of in-nest discrimination compared to guard discrimination at the hive entrance.

Main Methods:

  • Guards from Apis mellifera and Tetragonisca angustula were observed at the hive entrance (natural context).
  • Guards were tested in artificial arenas with manipulated colony odor and presence of other nestmates.
  • In-nest discrimination by multiple workers was assessed in Apis mellifera.

Main Results:

  • Recognition error rates were significantly lower at the natural hive entrance for both species compared to artificial arenas.
  • Colony odor reduced recognition errors in Apis mellifera within test arenas, but not to the level of natural guards.
  • In-nest discrimination by multiple Apis mellifera workers was less effective than guard discrimination at the entrance.

Conclusions:

  • The context in which nestmate recognition occurs significantly impacts discrimination accuracy.
  • Natural hive entrances provide a superior context for accurate nestmate recognition compared to artificial test arenas.
  • Future studies on nestmate recognition should carefully consider and control for contextual factors.