1
|
Hadjitofi A, Webb B. Dynamic antennal positioning allows honeybee followers to decode the dance. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1772-1779.e4. [PMID: 38479387 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The honeybee waggle dance has been widely studied as a communication system, yet we know little about how nestmates assimilate the information needed to navigate toward the signaled resource. They are required to detect the dancer's orientation relative to gravity and duration of the waggle phase and translate this into a flight vector with a direction relative to the sun1 and distance from the hive.2,3 Moreover, they appear capable of doing so from varied, dynamically changing positions around the dancer. Using high-speed, high-resolution video, we have uncovered a previously unremarked correlation between antennal position and the relative body axes of dancer and follower bees. Combined with new information about antennal inputs4,5 and spatial encoding in the insect central complex,6,7 we show how a neural circuit first proposed to underlie path integration could be adapted to decoding the dance and acquiring the signaled information as a flight vector that can be followed to the resource. This provides the first plausible account of how the bee brain could support the interpretation of its dance language.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hadjitofi
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK.
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dormagen DM, Wild B, Wario F, Landgraf T. Machine learning reveals the waggle drift's role in the honey bee dance communication system. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad275. [PMID: 37746326 PMCID: PMC10516631 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The honey bee waggle dance is one of the most prominent examples of abstract communication among animals: successful foragers convey new resource locations to interested followers via characteristic "dance" movements in the nest, where dances advertise different locations on different overlapping subregions of the "dance floor." To this day, this spatial separation has not been described in detail, and it remains unknown how it affects the dance communication. Here, we evaluate long-term recordings of Apis mellifera foraging at natural and artificial food sites. Using machine learning, we detect and decode waggle dances, and we individually identify and track dancers and dance followers in the hive and at artificial feeders. We record more than a hundred thousand waggle phases, and thousands of dances and dance-following interactions to quantitatively describe the spatial separation of dances on the dance floor. We find that the separation of dancers increases throughout a dance and present a motion model based on a positional drift of the dancer between subsequent waggle phases that fits our observations. We show that this separation affects follower bees as well and results in them more likely following subsequent dances to similar food source locations, constituting a positive feedback loop. Our work provides evidence that the positional drift between subsequent waggle phases modulates the information that is available to dance followers, leading to an emergent optimization of the waggle dance communication system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David M Dormagen
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin Wild
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fernando Wario
- Department of Electronics, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, 44430 Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Dong S, Lin T, Nieh JC, Tan K. A Method for Studying Social Signal Learning of the Waggle Dance in Honey Bees. Bio Protoc 2023; 13:e4789. [PMID: 37638302 PMCID: PMC10450786 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bees use a complex form of spatial referential communication. Their waggle dance communicates to nestmates the direction, distance, and quality of a resource by encoding celestial cues, retinal optic flow, and relative food value into motion and sound within the nest. This protocol was developed to investigate the potential for social learning of this waggle dance. Using this protocol, we showed that correct waggle dancing requires social learning. Bees (Apis mellifera) that did not follow any dances before they first danced produced significantly more disordered dances, with larger waggle angle divergence errors, and encoded distance incorrectly. The former deficits improved with experience, but distance encoding was set for life. The first dances of bees that could follow other dancers had none of these impairments. Social learning, therefore, shapes honey bee signaling, as it does communication in human infants, birds, and multiple other vertebrate species. However, much remains to be learned about insects' social learning, and this protocol will help to address knowledge gaps in the understanding of sophisticated social signal learning, particularly in understanding the molecular bases for such learning. Key features It was unclear if honey bees (Apis mellifera) could improve their waggle dance by following experienced dancers before they first waggle dance. Honey bees perform their first waggle dances with more errors if they cannot follow experienced waggle dancers first. Directional and disorder errors improved over time, but distance error was maintained. Bees in experimental colonies continued to communicate longer distances than control bees. Dancing correctly, with less directional error and disorder, requires social learning. Distance encoding in the honey bee dance is largely genetic but may also include a component of cultural transmission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shihao Dong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Tao Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - James C. Nieh
- School of Biological Sciences, Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Shackleton K, Balfour NJ, Al Toufailia H, James E, Ratnieks FL. Honey bee waggle dances facilitate shorter foraging distances and increased foraging aggregation. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
|
5
|
Lin CH, Suresh S, Matcham E, Monagan P, Curtis H, Richardson RT, Johnson RM. Soybean is a Common Nectar Source for Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Midwestern Agricultural Landscape. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 115:1846-1851. [PMID: 36130184 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toac140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivation has substantially transformed the Midwestern landscape in recent decades. Floral nectar produced by immense fields of soybeans has the potential to influence foraging ecology and resource accumulation of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies. In this study, we combined microscopic and molecular pollen analysis of honey samples with waggle dance inference of spatial foraging patterns to demonstrate that honey bees routinely forage on soybeans in Ohio. In analyzing honey samples from across the state, we found ubiquitous presence of soybean pollen in honey collected from agricultural lands during soybean bloom. The abundance of soybean pollen in honey increased with the amount of soybean fields surrounding the apiaries. Honey bee waggle dances recorded during soybean bloom revealed that honey bees preferred soybean fields for foraging over other habitat types. With these results, future research efforts aimed at enhancing mutual interactions between soybeans and honey bees may represent an unexplored pathway for increasing soybean production while supporting honey bees and other pollinators in the surrounding landscape.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Hua Lin
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory, 2501 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Sreelakshmi Suresh
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory, 2501 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Emma Matcham
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Agronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32605, USA
| | - Paityn Monagan
- Metro Early College High School, 1929 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Hailey Curtis
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory, 2501 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Rodney T Richardson
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory, 2501 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Reed M Johnson
- Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
da Costa Domingues CE, Sarmento AMP, Capela NXJ, Costa JM, Mina RMR, da Silva AA, Reis AR, Valente C, Malaspina O, Azevedo-Pereira HMVS, Sousa JP. Monitoring the effects of field exposure of acetamiprid to honey bee colonies in Eucalyptus monoculture plantations. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 844:157030. [PMID: 35777572 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Eucalyptus plantations occupy 26 % of Portuguese forested areas. Its flowers constitute important sources for bees and beekeepers take advantage of this and keep their honey bee colonies within or near the plantations for honey production. Nonetheless, these plantations are susceptible to pests, such as the eucalyptus weevil Gonipterus platensis. To control this weevil, some plantations must be treated with pesticides, which might harm non-target organisms. This study aimed to perform a multifactorial assessment of the health status and development of Apis mellifera iberiensis colonies in two similar landscape windows dominated by Eucalyptus globulus plantations - one used as control and the other with insecticide treatment. In each of the two selected areas, an apiary with five hives was installed and monitored before and after a single application of the insecticide acetamiprid (40 g a.i./ha). Colony health and development, resources use, and pesticide residues accumulation were measured. The results showed that the application of acetamiprid in this area did not alter the health status and development of the colonies. This can be explained by the low levels of residues of acetamiprid detected only in pollen and bee bread samples, ~52 fold lower than the sublethal effect threshold. This could be attributed to the low offer of resources during and after the application event and within the application area, with the consequent foraging outside the sprayed area during that period. Since exposure to pesticides in such complex landscapes seems to be dependent on the spatial and temporal distribution of resources, we highlight some key monitoring parameters and tools that are able to provide reliable information on colony development and use of resources. These tools can be easily applied and can provide a better decision-taking of pesticide application in intensive production systems to decrease the risk of exposure for honey bees.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caio Eduardo da Costa Domingues
- University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Pivola 10, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia; Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Rio Claro, Brazil; Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Artur Miguel Paiva Sarmento
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Nuno Xavier Jesus Capela
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - José Miguel Costa
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rúben Miguel Rodrigues Mina
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - António Alves da Silva
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Raquel Reis
- Altri Florestal, SA, Quinta do Furadouro, 2510-582 Olho Marinho, Portugal
| | - Carlos Valente
- RAIZ - Instituto de Investigação da Floresta e Papel, Quinta de São Francisco, Apartado 15, 3801-501 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Osmar Malaspina
- Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Henrique M V S Azevedo-Pereira
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; ForestWISE - Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest & Fire Management, Quinta de Prados, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
| | - José Paulo Sousa
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Steele TN, Schürch R, Ohlinger BD, Couvillon MJ. Apple orchards feed honey bees during, but even more so after, bloom. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ohlinger BD, Schürch R, Silliman MR, Steele TN, Couvillon MJ. Dance-communicated distances support nectar foraging as a supply-driven system. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220155. [PMID: 36043303 PMCID: PMC9428537 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Much like human consumers, honeybees adjust their behaviours based on resources' supply and demand. For both, interactions occur in fluctuating conditions. Honeybees weigh the cost of flight against the benefit of nectar and pollen, which are nutritionally distinct resources that serve different purposes: bees collect nectar continuously to build large honey stores for overwintering, but they collect pollen intermittently to build modest stores for brood production periods. Therefore, nectar foraging can be considered a supply-driven process, whereas pollen foraging is demand-driven. Here we compared the foraging distances, communicated by waggle dances and serving as a proxy for cost, for nectar and pollen in three ecologically distinct landscapes in Virginia. We found that honeybees foraged for nectar at distances 14% further than for pollen across all three sites (n = 6224 dances, p < 0.001). Specific temporal dynamics reveal that monthly nectar foraging occurs at greater distances compared with pollen foraging 85% of the time. Our results strongly suggest that honeybee foraging cost dynamics are consistent with nectar supply-driven and pollen demand-driven processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bradley D Ohlinger
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Mary R Silliman
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Taylor N Steele
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Margaret J Couvillon
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Physicochemical Properties and Floral Sources of Honey Produced in Marsabit Forest Reserve, Northern Kenya. J FOOD QUALITY 2022. [DOI: 10.1155/2022/3841184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study assessed the physicochemical properties and floral sources (botanical origin) of sixteen honey samples collected from beekeepers in five clusters surrounding the Marsabit Forest Reserve (MFR) in northern Kenya. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the differences in physicochemical properties of honey, while relative frequencies of pollen types in each honey sample were calculated and expressed as percentages. The mean physicochemical parameter values were moisture, 18.09 ± 0.86%; total reducing sugars, 73.03 ± 1.00%; apparent sucrose, 2.43 ± 0.66%; acidity, 20.25 ± 0.86 meq/kg; hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), 11.01 ± 5.39 mg/kg. All parameter values were within limits set in the East African Standard, Codex Alimentarius, and the European Union directive standards for honey. Pollen analysis showed a total of 108 pollen types representing 55 families and 97 genera. The highest represented family in the honey samples was Euphorbiaceae. The study recommends the further uptake of apiculture and the training and facilitation of honey producers, processors, and traders on quality assurance and certification of honey to make them competitive in the markets beyond the local level.
Collapse
|
10
|
Silliman MR, Schürch R, Malone S, Taylor SV, Couvillon MJ. Row crop fields provide mid‐summer forage for honey bees. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8979. [PMID: 35784068 PMCID: PMC9170536 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees provide invaluable economic and ecological services while simultaneously facing stressors that may compromise their health. For example, agricultural landscapes, such as a row crop system, are necessary for our food production, but they may cause poor nutrition in bees from a lack of available nectar and pollen. Here, we investigated the foraging dynamics of honey bees in a row crop environment. We decoded, mapped, and analyzed 3459 waggle dances, which communicate the location of where bees collected food, for two full foraging seasons (April–October, 2018–2019). We found that bees recruited nestmates mostly locally (<2 km) throughout the season. The shortest communicated median distances (0.474 and 0.310 km), indicating abundant food availability, occurred in July in both years, which was when our row crops were in full bloom. We determined, by plotting and analyzing the communicated locations, that almost half of the mid‐summer recruitment was to row crops, with 37% (2018) and 50% (2019) of honey bee dances indicating these fields. Peanut was the most attractive in July, followed by corn and cotton but not soybean. Overall, row crop fields are indicated by a surprisingly large proportion of recruitment dances, suggesting that similar agricultural landscapes may also provide mid‐summer foraging opportunities for honey bees.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mary R. Silliman
- Department of Entomology (MC0319) Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology (MC0319) Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
| | - Sean Malone
- Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center Virginia Tech Suffolk Virginia USA
| | - Sally V. Taylor
- Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center Virginia Tech Suffolk Virginia USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Veiner M, Morimoto J, Leadbeater E, Manfredini F. Machine Learning models identify gene predictors of waggle dance behaviour in honeybees. Mol Ecol Resour 2022; 22:2248-2261. [PMID: 35334147 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The molecular characterisation of complex behaviours is a challenging task as a range of different factors are often involved to produce the observed phenotype. An established approach is to look at the overall levels of expression of brain genes - or 'neurogenomics' - to select the best candidates that associate with patterns of interest. However, traditional neurogenomic analyses have some well-known limitations; above all, the usually limited number of biological replicates compared to the number of genes tested - known as "curse of dimensionality". In this study we implemented a Machine Learning (ML) approach that can be used as a complement to more established methods of transcriptomic analyses. We tested three supervised learning algorithms (Random Forests, Lasso and Elastic net Regularized Generalized Linear Model, and Support Vector Machine) for their performance in the characterization of transcriptomic patterns and identification of genes associated with honeybee waggle dance. We then intersected the results of these analyses with traditional outputs of differential gene expression analyses and identified two promising candidates for the neural regulation of the waggle dance: boss and hnRNP A1. Overall, our study demonstrates the application of Machine Learning to analyse transcriptomics data and identify candidate genes underlying social behaviour. This approach has great potential for application to a wide range of different scenarios in evolutionary ecology, when investigating the genomic basis for complex phenotypic traits and can present some clear advantages compared to the established tools of gene expression analysis, making it a valuable complement for future studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Veiner
- The School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK
| | - Juliano Morimoto
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Surrey, UK
| | - Fabio Manfredini
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Surrey, UK
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
|
13
|
Samuelson AE, Schürch R, Leadbeater E. Dancing bees evaluate central urban forage resources as superior to agricultural land. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ash E. Samuelson
- Department of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- Department of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Kohl PL, Rutschmann B. Honey bees communicate distance via non-linear waggle duration functions. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11187. [PMID: 33868825 PMCID: PMC8029670 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees (genus Apis) can communicate the approximate location of a resource to their nestmates via the waggle dance. The distance to a goal is encoded by the duration of the waggle phase of the dance, but the precise shape of this distance-duration relationship is ambiguous: earlier studies (before the 1990s) proposed that it is non-linear, with the increase in waggle duration flattening with distance, while more recent studies suggested that it follows a simple linear function (i.e. a straight line). Strikingly, authors of earlier studies trained bees to much longer distances than authors of more recent studies, but unfortunately they usually measured the duration of dance circuits (waggle phase plus return phase of the dance), which is only a correlate of the bees’ distance signal. We trained honey bees (A. mellifera carnica) to visit sugar feeders over a relatively long array of distances between 0.1 and 1.7 km from the hive and measured the duration of both the waggle phase and the return phase of their dances from video recordings. The distance-related increase in waggle duration was better described by a non-linear model with a decreasing slope than by a simple linear model. The relationship was equally well captured by a model with two linear segments separated at a “break-point” at 1 km distance. In turn, the relationship between return phase duration and distance was sufficiently well described by a simple linear model. The data suggest that honey bees process flight distance differently before and beyond a certain threshold distance. While the physiological and evolutionary causes of this behavior remain to be explored, our results can be applied to improve the estimation of honey bee foraging distances based on the decoding of waggle dances.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick L Kohl
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Rutschmann
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Eduardo da Costa Domingues C, Bello Inoue LV, Mathias da Silva-Zacarin EC, Malaspina O. Foragers of Africanized honeybee are more sensitive to fungicide pyraclostrobin than newly emerged bees. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 266:115267. [PMID: 32822922 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The honeybee has economic importance both for the commercial value of bee products and for its role in the pollination of agricultural crops. Despite the fact that the fungicides are widely used in agriculture, studies comparing the effects of this group of pesticides on bees are still scarce. There are many gaps preventing the understanding of bees' responses to exposure to fungicides, including the influence of the age of the exposed workers. However, this study aimed to compare the effects of residual concentrations of pyraclostrobin on young and old bees of Africanized Apis mellifera. The parameters analyzed were the survival rates, as well as the histopathological and histochemical changes in midgut of orally exposed workers to different sublethal concentrations of this strobilurin fungicide: 0.125 ng a.i./μL (C1), 0.025 ng a.i./μL (C2) e 0.005 ng a.i./μL (C3). The results showed a significant decrease in the longevity only for old bees exposed to the three concentrations of pyraclostrobin. After the five-day exposure period, the fungicide induced sublethal effects in the midgut only from the old bees. These effects were the increase both in cytoplasmic vacuolization of digestive cells and morphological changes in the nests of regenerative cells, which reflected in the higher lesion index of organ for groups C1 and C2. Additionally, there was a reduction in total protein staining in the intestinal epithelium in C1 and C2. At the same exposure period, the midgut of young bees presented only a reduction in the staining of neutral polysaccharides in the group C1. Concluding, old workers are more sensitive to the fungicide than young workers. This study showed different responses according to worker age, which can affect the maintenance of colony health. Future studies should take into account the age of the workers to better understand the effects of fungicides on bees.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caio Eduardo da Costa Domingues
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências (IB), Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
| | - Lais Vieira Bello Inoue
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências (IB), Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Elaine Cristina Mathias da Silva-Zacarin
- Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), Departamento de Biologia (DBio), Laboratório de Ecotoxicologia e Análise de Integridade Ambiental (LEIA), Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Osmar Malaspina
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências (IB), Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Carr-Markell MK, Demler CM, Couvillon MJ, Schürch R, Spivak M. Do honey bee (Apis mellifera) foragers recruit their nestmates to native forbs in reconstructed prairie habitats? PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228169. [PMID: 32049993 PMCID: PMC7015315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are valued for the pollination services that they provide. However, colony mortality has increased to unsustainable levels in some countries, including the United States. Landscape conversion to monocrop agriculture likely plays a role in this increased mortality by decreasing the food sources available to honey bees. Many land owners and organizations in the Upper Midwest region of the United States would like to restore/reconstruct native prairie habitats. With increasing public awareness of high bee mortality, many landowners and beekeepers have wondered whether these restored prairies could significantly improve honey bee colony nutrition. Conveniently, honey bees have a unique communication signal called a waggle dance, which indicates the locations of the flower patches that foragers perceive as highly profitable food sources. We used these communication signals to answer two main questions: First, is there any part of the season in which the foraging force of a honey bee colony will devote a large proportion of its recruitment efforts (waggle dances) to flower patches within prairies? Second, will honey bee foragers advertise specific taxa of native prairie flowers as profitable pollen sources? We decoded 1528 waggle dances in colonies located near two large, reconstructed prairies. We also collected pollen loads from a subset of waggle-dancing bees, which we then analyzed to determine the flower taxon advertised. Most dances advertised flower patches outside of reconstructed prairies, but the proportion of dances advertising nectar sources within prairies increased significantly in the late summer/fall at one site. Honey bees advertised seven native prairie taxa as profitable pollen sources, although the three most commonly advertised pollen taxa were non-native. Our results suggest that including certain native prairie flower taxa in reconstructed prairies may increase the chances that colonies will use those prairies as major food sources during the period of greatest colony growth and honey production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan K. Carr-Markell
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Cora M. Demler
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Margaret J. Couvillon
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Marla Spivak
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Chatterjee A, George EA, M V P, Basu P, Brockmann A. Honey bees flexibly use two navigational memories when updating dance distance information. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.195099. [PMID: 31097604 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.195099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Honey bees can communicate navigational information which makes them unique amongst all prominent insect navigators. Returning foragers recruit nest mates to a food source by communicating flight distance and direction using a small scale walking pattern: the waggle dance. It is still unclear how bees transpose flight information to generate corresponding dance information. In single feeder shift experiments, we monitored for the first time how individual bees update dance duration after a shift of feeder distance. Interestingly, the majority of bees (86%) needed two or more foraging trips to update dance duration. This finding demonstrates that transposing flight navigation information to dance information is not a reflexive behavior. Furthermore, many bees showed intermediate dance durations during the update process, indicating that honey bees highly likely use two memories: (i) a recently acquired navigation experience and (ii) a previously stored flight experience. Double-shift experiments, in which the feeder was moved forward and backward, created an experimental condition in which honey bee foragers did not update dance duration; suggesting the involvement of more complex memory processes. Our behavioral paradigm allows the dissociation of foraging and dance activity and opens the possibility of studying the molecular and neural processes underlying the waggle dance behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arumoy Chatterjee
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India.,School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur 613401, India
| | - Ebi A George
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India
| | - Prabhudev M V
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India.,Department of Biosciences, University of Mysore, Mysore 570006, India
| | - Pallab Basu
- International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560 089, India
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560065, India
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
|
19
|
Richardson RT, Curtis HR, Matcham EG, Lin C, Suresh S, Sponsler DB, Hearon LE, Johnson RM. Quantitative multi‐locus metabarcoding and waggle dance interpretation reveal honey bee spring foraging patterns in Midwest agroecosystems. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:686-697. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hailey R. Curtis
- College of Veterinary Medicine The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Emma G. Matcham
- Department of Horticulture and Crop Science The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Chia‐Hua Lin
- Department of Entomology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Sreelakshmi Suresh
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Douglas B. Sponsler
- Department of Entomology Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Luke E. Hearon
- Department of Entomology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| | - Reed M. Johnson
- Department of Entomology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Klein BA, Vogt M, Unrein K, Reineke DM. Followers of honey bee waggle dancers change their behaviour when dancers are sleep-restricted or perform imprecise dances. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
21
|
Wario F, Wild B, Rojas R, Landgraf T. Automatic detection and decoding of honey bee waggle dances. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188626. [PMID: 29236712 PMCID: PMC5728493 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The waggle dance is one of the most popular examples of animal communication. Forager bees direct their nestmates to profitable resources via a complex motor display. Essentially, the dance encodes the polar coordinates to the resource in the field. Unemployed foragers follow the dancer’s movements and then search for the advertised spots in the field. Throughout the last decades, biologists have employed different techniques to measure key characteristics of the waggle dance and decode the information it conveys. Early techniques involved the use of protractors and stopwatches to measure the dance orientation and duration directly from the observation hive. Recent approaches employ digital video recordings and manual measurements on screen. However, manual approaches are very time-consuming. Most studies, therefore, regard only small numbers of animals in short periods of time. We have developed a system capable of automatically detecting, decoding and mapping communication dances in real-time. In this paper, we describe our recording setup, the image processing steps performed for dance detection and decoding and an algorithm to map dances to the field. The proposed system performs with a detection accuracy of 90.07%. The decoded waggle orientation has an average error of -2.92° (± 7.37°), well within the range of human error. To evaluate and exemplify the system’s performance, a group of bees was trained to an artificial feeder, and all dances in the colony were automatically detected, decoded and mapped. The system presented here is the first of this kind made publicly available, including source code and hardware specifications. We hope this will foster quantitative analyses of the honey bee waggle dance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Wario
- FB Mathematik und Informatik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Benjamin Wild
- FB Mathematik und Informatik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Raúl Rojas
- FB Mathematik und Informatik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- FB Mathematik und Informatik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Barron AB, Plath JA. The evolution of honey bee dance communication: a mechanistic perspective. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:4339-4346. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.142778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Honey bee dance has been intensively studied as a communication system, and yet we still know very little about the neurobiological mechanisms supporting how dances are produced and interpreted. Here, we discuss how new information on the functions of the central complex (CX) of the insect brain might shed some light on possible neural mechanisms of dance behaviour. We summarise the features of dance communication across the species of the genus Apis. We then propose that neural mechanisms of orientation and spatial processing found to be supported by the CX may function in dance communication also, and that this mechanistic link could explain some specific features of the dance form. This is purely a hypothesis, but in proposing this hypothesis, and how it might be investigated, we hope to stimulate new mechanistic analyses of dance communication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Jenny Aino Plath
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Stange E, Zulian G, Rusch G, Barton D, Nowell M. Ecosystem services mapping for municipal policy: ESTIMAP and zoning for urban beekeeping. ONE ECOSYSTEM 2017. [DOI: 10.3897/oneeco.2.e14014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
|
24
|
Sponsler DB, Matcham EG, Lin CH, Lanterman JL, Johnson RM. Spatial and taxonomic patterns of honey bee foraging: A choice test between urban and agricultural landscapes. JOURNAL OF URBAN ECOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/jue/juw008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
|
25
|
Danner N, Molitor AM, Schiele S, Härtel S, Steffan-Dewenter I. Season and landscape composition affect pollen foraging distances and habitat use of honey bees. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2016; 26:1920-1929. [PMID: 27755712 DOI: 10.1890/15-1840.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Revised: 01/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) show a large variation in foraging distances and use a broad range of plant species as pollen resources, even in regions with intensive agriculture. However, it is unknown how increasing areas of mass-flowering crops like oilseed rape (Brassica napus; OSR) or a decrease of seminatural habitats (SNH) change the temporal and spatial availability of pollen resources for honey bee colonies, and thus foraging distances and frequency in different habitat types. We studied pollen foraging of honey bee colonies in 16 agricultural landscapes with independent gradients of OSR and SNH area within 2 km and used waggle dances and digital geographic maps with major land cover types to reveal the distance and visited habitat type on a landscape level. Mean pollen foraging distance of 1347 decoded bee dances was 1015 m (± 26 m; SEM). In spring, increasing area of flowering OSR within 2 km reduced mean pollen foraging distances from 1324 m to only 435 m. In summer, increasing cover of SNH areas close to the colonies (within 200 m radius) reduced mean pollen foraging distances from 846 to 469 m. Frequency of pollen foragers per habitat type, measured as the number of dances per hour and hectare, was equally high for SNH, grassland, and OSR fields, but lower for other crops and forests. In landscapes with a small proportion of SNH a significantly higher density of pollen foragers on SNH was observed, indicating that pollen resources in such simple agricultural landscapes are more limited. Overall, we conclude that SNH and mass-flowering crops can reduce foraging distances of honey bee colonies at different scales and seasons with possible benefits for the performance of honey bee colonies. Further, mixed agricultural landscapes with a high proportion of SNH reduce foraging densities of honey bees in SNH and thus possible competition for pollen resources.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Danner
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Anna Maria Molitor
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Schiele
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Härtel
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Schürch R, Ratnieks FLW, Samuelson EEW, Couvillon MJ. Dancing to her own beat: honey bee foragers communicate via individually calibrated waggle dances. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:1287-9. [PMID: 26944504 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.134874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Communication signals often vary between individuals, even when one expects selection to favour accuracy and precision, such as the honey bee waggle dance, where foragers communicate to nestmates the direction and distance to a resource. Although many studies have examined intra-dance variation, or the variation within a dance, less is known about inter-dance variation, or the variation between dances. This is particularly true for distance communication. Here, we trained individually marked bees from three colonies to forage at feeders of known distances and monitored their dances to determine individual communication variation. We found that each honey bee possesses her own calibration: individual duration-distance calibrations varied significantly in both slopes and intercepts. The variation may incur a cost for communication, such that a dancer and recruit may misunderstand the communicated distance by as much as 50%. Future work is needed to understand better the mechanisms and consequences of individual variation in communication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roger Schürch
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI), University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Francis L W Ratnieks
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI), University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Elizabeth E W Samuelson
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI), University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Margaret J Couvillon
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI), University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Beekman M, Makinson JC, Couvillon MJ, Preece K, Schaerf TM. Honeybee linguistics—a comparative analysis of the waggle dance among species of Apis. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
28
|
Garbuzov M, Schürch R, Ratnieks FL. Eating locally: dance decoding demonstrates that urban honey bees in Brighton, UK, forage mainly in the surrounding urban area. Urban Ecosyst 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-014-0403-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
29
|
Preece K, Beekman M. Honeybee waggle dance error: adaption or constraint? Unravelling the complex dance language of honeybees. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
30
|
Couvillon MJ, Schürch R, Ratnieks FLW. Dancing bees communicate a foraging preference for rural lands in high-level agri-environment schemes. Curr Biol 2014; 24:1212-5. [PMID: 24856213 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 03/28/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Since 1994, more than €41 billion has been spent in the European Union on agri-environment schemes (AESs), which aim to mitigate the effects of anthropomorphic landscape changes via financial incentives for land managers to encourage environmentally friendly practices [1-6]. Surprisingly, given the substantial price tag and mandatory EU member participation [2], there is either a lack of [1] or mixed [1, 2, 7] evidence-based support for the schemes. One novel source of data to evaluate AESs may be provided by an organism that itself may benefit from them. Honeybees (Apis mellifera), important pollinators for crops and wildflowers [8, 9], are declining in parts of the world from many factors, including loss of available forage from agricultural intensification [10-13]. We analyzed landscape-level honeybee foraging ecology patterns over two years by decoding 5,484 waggle dances from bees located in the center of a mixed, urban-rural 94 km(2) area, including lands under government-funded AESs. The waggle dance, a unique behavior performed by successful foragers, communicates to nestmates the most profitable foraging locations [14-16]. After correcting for distance, dances demonstrate that honeybees possess a significant preference for rural land managed under UK Higher Level AESs and a significant preference against rural land under UK Organic Entry Level AESs. Additionally, the two most visited areas contained a National and Local Nature Reserve, respectively. Our study demonstrates that honeybees, with their great foraging range and sensitive response to forage quality, can be used as bioindicators to monitor large areas and provide information relevant to better environmental management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret J Couvillon
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK.
| | - Roger Schürch
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK; Evolution, Behaviour, and Environment, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Francis L W Ratnieks
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
|
32
|
Couvillon MJ, Schürch R, Ratnieks FLW. Waggle dance distances as integrative indicators of seasonal foraging challenges. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93495. [PMID: 24695678 PMCID: PMC3973573 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Even as demand for their services increases, honey bees (Apis mellifera) and other pollinating insects continue to decline in Europe and North America. Honey bees face many challenges, including an issue generally affecting wildlife: landscape changes have reduced flower-rich areas. One way to help is therefore to supplement with flowers, but when would this be most beneficial? We use the waggle dance, a unique behaviour in which a successful forager communicates to nestmates the location of visited flowers, to make a 2-year survey of food availability. We “eavesdropped” on 5097 dances to track seasonal changes in foraging, as indicated by the distance to which the bees as economic foragers will recruit, over a representative rural-urban landscape. In year 3, we determined nectar sugar concentration. We found that mean foraging distance/area significantly increase from springs (493 m, 0.8 km2) to summers (2156 m, 15.2 km2), even though nectar is not better quality, before decreasing in autumns (1275 m, 5.1 km2). As bees will not forage at long distances unnecessarily, this suggests summer is the most challenging season, with bees utilizing an area 22 and 6 times greater than spring or autumn. Our study demonstrates that dancing bees as indicators can provide information relevant to helping them, and, in particular, can show the months when additional forage would be most valuable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret J Couvillon
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Roger Schürch
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom; Laboratory of Social Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Francis L W Ratnieks
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Incorporating variability in honey bee waggle dance decoding improves the mapping of communicated resource locations. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2013; 199:1143-52. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-013-0860-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2013] [Revised: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 09/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
34
|
Schürch R, Couvillon MJ. Too much noise on the dance floor: Intra- and inter-dance angular error in honey bee waggle dances. Commun Integr Biol 2013; 6:e22298. [PMID: 23750292 PMCID: PMC3655781 DOI: 10.4161/cib.22298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2012] [Accepted: 09/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful honey bee foragers communicate where they have found a good resource with the waggle dance, a symbolic language that encodes a distance and direction. Both of these components are repeated several times (1 to > 100) within the same dance. Additionally, both these components vary within a dance. Here we discuss some causes and consequences of intra-dance and inter-dance angular variation and advocate revisiting von Frisch and Lindauer’s earlier work to gain a better understanding of honey bee foraging ecology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roger Schürch
- Social Evolution Research Group; School of Life Sciences; University of Sussex; Brighton, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Al Toufailia H, Couvillon MJ, Ratnieks FLW, Grüter C. Honey bee waggle dance communication: signal meaning and signal noise affect dance follower behaviour. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1474-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
36
|
Couvillon MJ, Phillipps HLF, Schürch R, Ratnieks FLW. Working against gravity: horizontal honeybee waggle runs have greater angular scatter than vertical waggle runs. Biol Lett 2012; 8:540-3. [PMID: 22513277 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The presence of noise in a communication system may be adaptive or may reflect unavoidable constraints. One communication system where these alternatives are debated is the honeybee (Apis mellifera) waggle dance. Successful foragers communicate resource locations to nest-mates by a dance comprising repeated units (waggle runs), which repetitively transmit the same distance and direction vector from the nest. Intra-dance waggle run variation occurs and has been hypothesized as a colony-level adaptation to direct recruits over an area rather than a single location. Alternatively, variation may simply be due to constraints on bees' abilities to orient waggle runs. Here, we ask whether the angle at which the bee dances on vertical comb influences waggle run variation. In particular, we determine whether horizontal dances, where gravity is not aligned with the waggle run orientation, are more variable in their directional component. We analysed 198 dances from foragers visiting natural resources and found support for our prediction. More horizontal dances have greater angular variation than dances performed close to vertical. However, there is no effect of waggle run angle on variation in the duration of waggle runs, which communicates distance. Our results weaken the hypothesis that variation is adaptive and provide novel support for the constraint hypothesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret J Couvillon
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|