Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive
Food quality is a relevant characteristic to be transferred within eusocial insect colonies because its evaluation improves the collective foraging efficiency. In honeybees, colony mates could directly acquire this resource characteristic during trophallactic encounters with nectar foragers. In the...
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2008
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| Acceso en línea: | https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez |
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paper:paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez2023-06-08T15:34:02Z Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive Apis mellifera Communication Honeybee Sugar response Trophallaxis food quality foraging behavior foraging efficiency honeybee nectar physiological response Apis mellifera Apoidea Hexapoda Food quality is a relevant characteristic to be transferred within eusocial insect colonies because its evaluation improves the collective foraging efficiency. In honeybees, colony mates could directly acquire this resource characteristic during trophallactic encounters with nectar foragers. In the present study, we focused on the gustatory responsiveness of bees that have unloaded food from incoming foragers. The sugar sensitivity of receiver bees was assessed in the laboratory by using the proboscis extension response paradigm. After unloading, hive bees were captured either from a colony that foraged freely in the environmental surroundings or from a colony that foraged at an artificial feeder with a known sucrose solution. In the first situation, the sugar sensitivity of the hive bees negatively correlated with the sugar concentration of the nectar crops brought back by forager mates. Similarly, in the controlled situation, the highest sucrose concentration the receivers accepted during trophallaxis corresponded to the highest thresholds to sucrose. The results indicate that first-order receivers modify their sugar sensitivity according to the quality of the food previously transferred through trophallaxis by the incoming foragers. In addition, trophallaxis is a mechanism capable of transferring gustatory information in honeybees. Its implications at a social scale might involve changes in the social information as well as in nectar distribution within the colony. © 2007 Springer-Verlag. 2008 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez |
| institution |
Universidad de Buenos Aires |
| institution_str |
I-28 |
| repository_str |
R-134 |
| collection |
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) |
| topic |
Apis mellifera Communication Honeybee Sugar response Trophallaxis food quality foraging behavior foraging efficiency honeybee nectar physiological response Apis mellifera Apoidea Hexapoda |
| spellingShingle |
Apis mellifera Communication Honeybee Sugar response Trophallaxis food quality foraging behavior foraging efficiency honeybee nectar physiological response Apis mellifera Apoidea Hexapoda Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| topic_facet |
Apis mellifera Communication Honeybee Sugar response Trophallaxis food quality foraging behavior foraging efficiency honeybee nectar physiological response Apis mellifera Apoidea Hexapoda |
| description |
Food quality is a relevant characteristic to be transferred within eusocial insect colonies because its evaluation improves the collective foraging efficiency. In honeybees, colony mates could directly acquire this resource characteristic during trophallactic encounters with nectar foragers. In the present study, we focused on the gustatory responsiveness of bees that have unloaded food from incoming foragers. The sugar sensitivity of receiver bees was assessed in the laboratory by using the proboscis extension response paradigm. After unloading, hive bees were captured either from a colony that foraged freely in the environmental surroundings or from a colony that foraged at an artificial feeder with a known sucrose solution. In the first situation, the sugar sensitivity of the hive bees negatively correlated with the sugar concentration of the nectar crops brought back by forager mates. Similarly, in the controlled situation, the highest sucrose concentration the receivers accepted during trophallaxis corresponded to the highest thresholds to sucrose. The results indicate that first-order receivers modify their sugar sensitivity according to the quality of the food previously transferred through trophallaxis by the incoming foragers. In addition, trophallaxis is a mechanism capable of transferring gustatory information in honeybees. Its implications at a social scale might involve changes in the social information as well as in nectar distribution within the colony. © 2007 Springer-Verlag. |
| title |
Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| title_short |
Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| title_full |
Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| title_fullStr |
Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| title_sort |
honeybees modify gustatory responsiveness after receiving nectar from foragers within the hive |
| publishDate |
2008 |
| url |
https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03405443_v62_n4_p529_Martinez |
| _version_ |
1768544275132317696 |