SummaryIn this BEEBOOK paper we present a set of established methods for quantifying honey bee behaviour. We start with general methods for preparing bees for behavioural assays. Then we introduce assays for quantifying sensory responsiveness to gustatory, visual and olfactory stimuli. Presentation of more complex behaviours like appetitive and aversive learning under controlled laboratory conditions and learning paradigms under free-flying conditions will allow the reader to investigate a large range of cognitive skills in honey bees. Honey bees are very sensitive to changing temperatures. We therefore present experiments which aim at analysing honey bee locomotion in temperature gradients. The complex flight behaviour of honey bees can be investigated under controlled conditions in the laboratory or with sophisticated technologies like harmonic radar or RFID in the field. These methods will be explained in detail in different sections. Honey bees are model organisms in behavioural biology for their complex yet plastic division of labour. To observe the daily behaviour of individual bees in a colony, classical observation hives are very useful. The setting up and use of typical observation hives will be the focus of another section. The honey bee dance language has important characteristics of a real language and has been the focus of numerous studies. We here discuss the background of the honey bee dance language and describe how it can be studied. Finally, the mating of a honey bee queen with drones is

Summary — We compared drones of different body size. Small drones were reared in worker cells while large drones originated from drone cells. We used the cordovan (cd) mutant as a marker. The distribution of drone types in a drone congregation area was monitored by pheromone traps. No significant differences in temporal, horizontal and vertical distributions of large (cd) drones were found, either in comparison with large (+) or in the experiment with small (+) drones. The offspring of homozygous cordovan (cd/cd) queens which were mated during the experiment by (cd) and (+) drones was examined. We compared the ratio of (cd/cd) and (cd/+) workers to the drone ratio at time of the mating flight. Small drones had a reproductive disadvantage compared with large drones. Large (cd) drones had a lower reproductive success compared to large (+) drones.

At 2 drone congregation areas (DCA) the relation between drone presence and distance to the apiary of origin was studied. Two methods were applied. First, drones were caught and marked on the DCA and later recovered in the colonies. Second, drones which were marked before at the apiary (in the colonies) were subsequently recaptured on both DCA's. The 2 methods led to identical conclusions. Consistently in each of 3 years the majority of the drones from each of the 3 apiaries was found at the nearer DCA. There was, however, no direct correlation between the flight distances and the ratio of drones visiting from each apiary. Thus some other factors ("attractiveness" of the DCA) may also have influenced the choice of the drones. Our findings support the idea that there is an orientation phase during which drones explore several DCA's before each drone stays at 1 DCA, and energetic choices made by drones in relation to flight distances seem to be important. The choice of the nearer DCA would permit the drone to prolong his presence at the DCA and increase his chances to mate: "the nearer the better"! The drone's strategy to chose the nearer DCA would boost the genetic representation of local colonies and this "drone clumping" would increase genetic differences among the DCA's within an area. In this context the choice of virgin queens among DCA's is of great significance.

No abstract

SUMMARY QUANTIFICATION OF 9-OXO-DECENOIC ACID IN THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE CAPE HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA CAPENSIS ESCHOLTZ)9-oxo-decenoic acid was quantified by a new, direct gaschromatographic analysis. Single newly emerged Cape honeybee workers were kept together each with 70-80 young workers of Apis mellifera carnica in small cages. The Cape bees started with oviposition on the 8th and 9th day under these conditions. 9-OD was found in 78 % of all Cape workers in the experiments. The first occurrence of 9-OD was noticed on the fourth day (after emergence) and the quantity of 9-OD increased with the age. On the 10th day an average of 50 p g 9-OD and on the 80th day 300hg 9-OD per worker were found.Both, 9-OD production and oviposition were observed in 79 workers, while 8 worker bees had no 9-OD though they layed eggs. 12 out of 18 bees, which did not oviposit, produced 9-OD. So oviposition and 9-OD production are not directly correlated. ZUSAMMENFASSUNGMit Hilfe einer neuen direkten gaschromatographischen Methode wurde die 9-Oxodecensäure (9-OD) quantitativ bestimmt.