<i>Bombus impatiens</i> (Hymenoptera: Apidae) display reduced pollen foraging behavior when marked with bee tags vs. paint

Abstract

Abstract. Numbered bee tags, developed for marking honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), are glued to the mesosoma of many bees to uniquely identify them. We recorded whether or not bees sonicated to collect pollen after being marked, and we compared the sonication frequency, sonication length, and wing beat frequency of Bombus (Pyrobombus) impatiens Cresson that were tagged with bee tags vs. marked with paint. We found that bees with tags glued to their mesosoma had no significant change in wing beat frequency, sonication frequency, or sonication length, relative to bees that were marked with paint; however, we found that the probability of collecting pollen via sonication after being marked was much lower for bees marked with bee tags vs. paint. Journal of Melittology 2No. 62 placed into experimental cages (Poissonnier et al., 2015). An alternative method of avoiding pseudoreplication while allowing bees to continue to interact with all of their nest-mates is to mark individuals, and then collect only one observation per bee, or account for repeated measurements on the same individual (Milinski, 1997). Few studies have investigated how marking insects affects behavior (Packer, 2005;De Souza et al., 2012). Common methods for marking individual bees include marking with dots of paint or attaching uniquely-numbered tags. When marking bees, numbered tags are often used (e.g., Osborne et al., 1999;Osborne & Williams, 2001) because paint comes in limited colors, and combinations of paint can quickly become complex and difficult to decipher if researchers wish to mark tens or hundreds of bees. Numbered bee tags, glued to the mesosoma, have regularly been used by beekeepers to identify honey bee queens, and are often used to mark other types of bees.To attach the tags or apply dots of paint, some researchers narcotize bees with cold or CO 2 to keep them from moving while being marked, but Poissonnier et al. (2015) found that these methods affect bee behaviors -activity, brood care, foraging, aggression, and egg production -for up to four days after treatment. In addition, Wilson et al. (2006) found that cold narcosis affects bumble bee foraging recruitment. Because of these potential confounding factors, alternative methods may be necessary to study bee behavior.Another method of immobilizing bees is to use a honey bee queen-marking cage (Capaldi et al., 2000;Reynolds et al., 2009), in which a bee is pressed against a mesh grid with a piece of foam. A paint dot or marker can then be placed on the bee, typically on the mesoscutum, by reaching through the grid to access the bee's body. A researcher using a queen-marking cage does not need cold or CO 2 narcosis, and thus queen-marking cages are more convenient for field-based experiments.A variety of glues have been used to affix tags to bees. In general, scientists marking individual insects need an adhesive that is durable, non-toxic in the amount applied, easy to apply, lightweight, and quick drying (Walker & Wineriter, 1981). Many bee-tagging kits include lacquer for...

The neglected impact of tracking devices on terrestrial arthropods

“…Electromagnetic radiation can directly or indirectly lower performance and survival (Cucurachi et al, 2013), but at least for honeybee hives equipped with standard RFID readers mortality rates were unaffected by the radiation (Darney et al, 2016). Studies in which no tags are used, such as capture-mark-recapture using simple paint to mark individuals, or studies using glued plate markings, are also documented to influence grooming, aggression, cooperation and foraging behaviour (De Souza, Ribeiro, José, & Prezoto, 2012;Packer, 2005;Switzer & Combes, 2016).…”

Going against the flow: bumblebees prefer to fly upwind and display more variable kinematics when flying downwind

“…Although tags are effective and useful for many studies, they may have some negative consequences on behavior (e.g. Switzer and Combes, 2016 ), and for many species, maintaining a fully tagged population with readable tags requires considerable effort (e.g. in bees, waxy build-up must be cleaned from tags, and the hive must regularly be anesthetized, and all individuals removed to tag newly emerged bees).…”

TRex, a fast multi-animal tracking system with markerless identification, and 2D estimation of posture and visual fields

“…Tags have to be large enough so a program can recognize it in a video stream. Even worse, especially with increased relative tag-size, the animal’s behavior may be affected by the presence of the tag or during its application ( Dennis et al, 2008 ; Pankiw and Page, 2003 ; Sockman and Schwabl, 2001 ), and there might be no way for experimenters to necessarily know that it did (unless with considerable effort, see Switzer and Combes, 2016 ). In addition, for some animals, like fish and termites, attachment of tags that are effective for discriminating among a large number of individuals can be problematic, or impossible.…”