THE SEARCH DYNAMICS OF RECRUITED HONEY BEES, APIS MELLIFERA LIGUSTICA SPINOLA

Abstract

Some variables in the recruitment process of honey bees were studied as they affected the distribution and success of the searching population in the field. The dance language and odor dependence hypotheses were contrasted and their predictions compared with the following observations. 1. Recruits were attracted to the odors from the food which were carried by foragers and were dependent on these odors for success. 2. A monitoring of recruit densities in the field demonstrated an association of searchers with the forager flight path. 3. The degree of correspondence between the distribution of recruits and the direction of the flight path to the feeding site was correlated with wind direction, not search efficiency. 4. Feeding stations upwind of the hive provided the highest recruit success rates, shortest search times, and the least dependence on wind speed. Downwind stations provided the lowest recruit success rates, the longest search times, and the greatest dependence on wind speed. 5. A disproportionate increase in recruit success with an increase in the number of foragers visiting a feeding site was correlated with the density of the foragers in the field. 6. Increased bee densities at the feeding site, even with bees from different hives, increased recruit success and shortened search times. 7. The progression of and the extremely long intervals between the onset of recruit arrivals at areas along the forager flight path suggested communication among bees in the field and a dependence of recruit success on the density and growth of the searching population. These observations are compatible with an odor dependent search behavior and together fail to support the predictions of the dance language hypothesis. Dance attendants appeared to have been conditioned to the odors associated with returning foragers and, after leaving the hive, entered a searching population dependent on these odors for success. The dependence of recruit success on food odor at the feeding station, the density of foragers between this station and the hive, and the direction of the wind indicates that the integrity of the forager flight path was extremely important to this success. The distributions and extended search times of recruits indicated a search behavior based on positive anemotaxis during the perception of the proper combination of odors and negative anemotaxis after the loss of this stimulation.

Modelling collective foraging by means of individual behaviour rules in honey-bees

“…In particular, the number of bees present at the source or¯ying to the source might be a cue for the less experienced bees that helps them ®nd the source again (Friesen 1973). Observations on Melipona fasciata (Biesmeijer and Vork 1997) suggest that a number of bees do not land on the source because they have already perceived the deterioration of the source from cues in the neighbourhood.…”

“…It is evident that, in her search for the advertised source, a recruited bee uses both odour (e.g. Friesen 1973) and positional information (e.g. Michelsen et al 1992), which she has acquired by following the waggle dance and has stored in her memory.…”

“…Odour cues both in the hive (von Frisch 1923;Wenner and Wells 1990) and in the ®eld (Friesen 1973;Wenner and Wells 1990) and visual stimuli (Wenner and Wells 1990) all in¯uence the behaviour of searching bees. Because many empirical studies deal speci®cally with the honey-bee's dance behaviour and its function (von Frisch 1967;Seeley 1995) as do theoretical studies Bartholdi et al 1993), our modelling exercise concentrated on honey-bee communication of a food source by means of the waggle dance.…”

“…How does a newly recruited bee search for the source advertised in the waggle dance? A starting point can be found in the studies by Wenner et al (1991, and references therein) and Friesen (1973).…”

Floral scents induce recall of navigational and visual memories in honeybees

“…While it is clear that honeybee navigation relies substantially on a sun compass and an 'odometer', bees are also known to use additional visual and olfactory cues that aid the process of navigation and help guide them to their goal (Friesen 1973;Collett 1992;Tautz and Sandeman 2003). Here, we explore the use of associative learning of chemical information as one such cue.…”