Intra-colonial foraging specialism by honey bees (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera:Apidae)

Oldroyd, Benjamin P.; Rinderer, Thomas E.; Buco, Steven M.

doi:10.1007/bf00170594

Cited by 51 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Behavioral polymorphisms among subfamilies have been found for a wide variety of critical tasks [14,17,19,34,41,45,46,48,49,62,70,71,74,75]. It has been often argued that this variation is adaptive and that task specialization allows individual bees to focus on particular tasks and become expert in them [8,47,75].…”

Section: The Subset Of Hypotheses Relating To Worker Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis

2000

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Apis for which paternity frequency has been determined show high but extremely variable levels of polyandry [53].Kin selection is especially appealing as a contributing factor to the evolution of eusociality in Hymenopteran species because the haplo-diploid reproductive system of this order generates extremely high levels of relatedness among the workers in colonies in which the queen is mated only once. Intuitively, multiple mating by social insect queens is unexpected because multiple mating reduces nestmate relatedness within a INTRODUCTIONOne of the more intriguing questions of evolutionary biology is a plausible adaptive explanation for the widespread incidence of multiple queens (polygyny) or multiple mating (polyandry) by queens in the eusocial Hymenoptera. The frequency of mating varies substantially among species. While many species are monandrous and monogynous (e.g., the majority of the stingless bees [39]), a few have evolved extremely high levels of polyandry or polygyny [55,57,81]. In particular, all species of the genus Abstract -Multiple mating by social insect queens is a widespread phenomenon. Because of the apparent inclusive fitness benefits of monandry, and the potential costs of polyandry, explanations for the evolution of multiple mating have been frequently sought. Current leading explanations are collectively known as 'genetic variance' hypotheses which posit that both queen and colony fitness are increased by an increase in the intracolonial genetic diversity that accrues from multiple mating. However, the precise way in which genetic diversity acts to increase colony fitness is not clear. Furthermore, some of these hypotheses are probably insufficient to explain extreme levels of polyandry observed in the genus Apis.Apis / genetic variance / polyandry / task specialization / parasite Apidologie 31 (2000) 235-248 235

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Section: The Subset Of Hypotheses Relating To Worker Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis

2000

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“…It has been shown that polyandry, and the resultant intracolony genetic diversity of the worker force, confers numerous benefits to a colony (reviewed by Palmer and Oldroyd, 2000). First, genetic diversity may increase the behavioral diversity of the worker force (Fuchs and Schade, 1994;Oldroyd et al, 1994;Moritz and Fuchs, 1998;Mattila and Seeley, 2007), such as enabling colonies to exploit different foraging environments more efficiently (Lobo and Kerr, 1993;Mattila et al, 2008) or providing a buffer against fluctuations in the environment (Oldroyd et al, 1992;Page et al, 1995;Jones et al, 2004). Second, genetic diversity may reduce the impacts of diploid male production as a consequence of the single-locus sex determination system (Page, 1980;Ratnieks, 1990;Crozier and Pamilo, 1996;Tarpy and Page, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The physical, insemination, and reproductive quality of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.)

et al. 2011

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-Understanding the reproductive potential ("quality") of queens bees can provide valuable insights into factors that influence colony phenotype. We assayed queens from various commercial sources for various measures of potential queen quality, including their physical characters (such as their degree of parasitism), insemination number (stored sperm counts), and effective paternity frequency (number of drone fathers among their offspring). We found significant variation in the physical, insemination, and mating quality of commercially produced queens, and we detected significant correlations within and among these various measures. Overall, the queens were sufficiently inseminated (3.99 ± 1.504 million sperm) and mated with an appropriate number of drones (effective paternity frequency: 16.0 ± 9.48). Importantly, very few of the queens were parasitized by tracheal mites and none were found with either Nosema species. These findings suggest possible mechanisms for assessing the potential fitness of honey bee queens without the need for destructive sampling.honey bee queens / reproductive potential / insemination / parasitism / effective mating frequency

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“…It is widely known that bees possess the ability to finely adjust several components of their foraging behavior according to the quality of the nectar source (Núñez, 1970(Núñez, , 1982Seeley et al, 1991;Seeley, 1995). Several works pointed out the effect of the nectar flow rate and concentration, nutritional state of the colony, genetic constitution and other variables on the foraging behavior of individual bees (Núñez, 1970(Núñez, , 1982Seeley, 1995;Seeley et al, 1991;Oldroyd et al, 1992). However, little is known about how bee foraging behavior is affected by 302 P.C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective nectar foraging at low reward conditions in honeybees Apis mellifera

Fernández

Farina

2005

Apidologie

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-The individual behavior of foraging bees was analysed at low-reward conditions within a collective context. This study compared bee's foraging behavior under non-competitive (individual) and highly competitive (collective) conditions. A regular pattern in the visitation, non-visitation times and the frequency of foraging bouts was observed in bees that collected individually. In contrast, when bees foraged collectively, they demonstrated great variability in their behaviors. Some bees had regular visits to the feeder while others had only sporadic bouts. Individual foraging parameters related to the "persistency" at the feeder were well correlated with the prior foraging experience at this site. Results suggests that prior experience at a feeding place and efficiency as nectar carriers are positively correlated during collective foraging.Apis mellifera / foraging / experience / collective foraging / competition

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Intra-colonial foraging specialism by honey bees (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera:Apidae)

Cited by 51 publications

References 21 publications

Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis

Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis

The physical, insemination, and reproductive quality of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.)

Collective nectar foraging at low reward conditions in honeybees Apis mellifera

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