Sex and caste effects on the vibrational sensitivity in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Author:

Chehaimi SarahORCID,Kirchner Wolfgang H.

Abstract

AbstractIn the darkness of their nests, most social insect species communicate relying on chemical, tactile, electrical and mechanical signals. In honeybees, vibrational signals play a role not only in worker communication but also in communication among virgin queens in the process of swarming. Whereas the sensitivity to vibrations has been well studied in worker bees, vibrational sensitivity of queens and drones has never been investigated. We therefore studied the sensitivity to vibrations comparatively in workers, virgin and laying queens and in drones, focusing on the frequency range mainly used by virgin queens (350–500 Hz). Bees were tested behaviorally for responses to pulses of substrate borne vibrations in arenas placed on vibrational exciters. Vibrational amplitudes were measured using (LDV-calibrated) accelerometers. Real stimuli and sham stimuli were presented in a pseudorandom order. The threshold was defined as the lowest tested amplitude at which significantly more behavioral reactions were shown to real stimuli than to sham stimuli. Workers and virgin queens respond to amplitudes down to 0.25 m/s2. The thresholds of laying queens are substantially higher and they respond to minimum amplitudes of 0.55 m/s2. Drones show responses to amplitudes down to 0.6 m/s2. We conclude that sex and caste have effects on vibrational sensitivity in honeybees: virgin queens are significantly more sensitive than laying queens, indicating that a high sensitivity is crucial for survival during the process of swarming; workers are likewise highly sensitive to execute efficient everyday work; drones are significantly the least sensitive.

Funder

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3