Harmonic radar tracking reveals that honeybee drones navigate between multiple aerial leks

Area of Science:

• Behavioral ecology
• Insect navigation
• Animal communication

Background:

• Male honeybees (drones) aggregate in specific "drone congregation areas" (DCAs) for mating.
• Understanding drone navigation and lekking behavior is crucial for honeybee population dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the flight paths and site selection behavior of individual male honeybees within DCAs.
• To identify patterns of navigation and collective behavior in drone congregation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized harmonic radar to track the flight paths of individual drones.
• Analyzed flight data to determine site fidelity, navigation strategies, and movement patterns within and between DCAs.

Main Results:

• Drones exhibited stable preferences for specific locations within the landscape over two years.
• Drones frequently visited multiple lekking sites within a single flight, using shared, direct flight paths.
• A correlation was observed between drone distance from the center of an area and acceleration towards it, indicating collective behavior.

Conclusions:

• Drone navigation involves learning and familiarity with multiple lekking sites.
• Collective behavior, driven by individual drone movements, leads to congregation in DCAs.
• This study provides novel insights into the complex aerial behavior of drones during mating.