A Landscape Analysis to Understand Orientation of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Drones in Puerto Rico

Galindo‐Cardona, Alberto; Monmany, A. Carolina; Diaz, Giselle; Giray, Tuğrul

doi:10.1093/ee/nvv099

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Flight-age drones were collected at the entrance during peak flight period, 14:00 to 17:00 h in Puerto Rico ( Galindo-Cardona et al, 2012 ). To collect these drones, we blocked the colony entrance with a queen excluder rather than the mesh used in worker collection ( Benatar et al, 1995 ; see also Galindo-Cardona et al, 2012 , 2015 ). In this way, we assured worker flow was not disturbed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, later in the season when drone production was greatly reduced, we collected drones from inside the colonies by opening the hives and extracting drones directly from the combs with the modified vacuum. Drones collected later in the season would be flight-age individuals ( Galindo-Cardona et al, 2012 , 2015 ). When an adequate number of drones were collected with either approach, they were taken to the laboratory for testing as with workers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social signals and aversive learning in honey bee drones and workers

et al. 2016

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The dissemination of information is a basic element of group cohesion. In honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus 1758), like in other social insects, the principal method for colony-wide information exchange is communication via pheromones. This medium of communication allows multiple individuals to conduct tasks critical to colony survival. Social signaling also establishes conflict at the level of the individual who must trade-off between attending to the immediate environment or the social demand. In this study we examined this conflict by challenging highly social worker honey bees, and less social male drone honey bees undergoing aversive training by presenting them with a social stress signal (isopentyl acetate, IPA). We utilized IPA exposure methods that caused lower learning performance in appetitive learning in workers. Exposure to isopentyl acetate (IPA) did not affect performance of drones and had a dose-specific effect on worker response, with positive effects diminishing at higher IPA doses. The IPA effects are specific because non-social cues, such as the odor cineole, improve learning performance in drones, and social homing signals (geraniol) did not have a discernible effect on drone or worker performance. We conclude that social signals do generate conflict and that response to them is dependent on signal relevance to the individual as well as the context. We discuss the effect of social signal on learning both related to its social role and potential evolutionary history.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social signals and aversive learning in honey bee drones and workers

et al. 2016

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“…For the first few days afterwards, young drones interact with workers near the brood area to be fed and groomed (Goins and Schneider 2013;Collison 2004). Orientation flights, which help drones learn the local landmarks and precise location of the nest, begin approximately 5 to 8 days following emergence (Tofilski and Kopel 1996;Collison 2004;Galindo-Cardona et al 2015). Once a drone has learned the main landmarks and location of the hive, his life cycle culminates when he joins a drone congregation area ("DCA") with a diameter of 30 to 200 m (Loper et al 1987(Loper et al , 1992Koeniger and Koeniger 2004), where as many as 11,000 drones gather midair at between 10 and 40 m above ground (Free 1987;Baudry et al 1998;Koeniger et al 2005a).…”

Section: Reproductive Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is indication that factors such as vegetation structure, directionality, and density affect drone flight navigation (Galindo-Cardona et al 2012. In one study, drones showed either enhanced or limited navigational abilities based on cardinal direction and distance, with some exhibiting higher rates of return to their colony from greater distances when returning from the north or south, but not having the ability to return from distances of 4 km or more when returning from an eastern direction (Galindo-Cardona et al 2015).…”

Section: Reproductive Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting the reproductive health of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones—a review

Rangel

Fisher

2019

Apidologie

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In the honey bee, Apis mellifera , colonies are composed of one queen, thousands of female workers, and a few thousand seasonal males (drones) that are reared only during the reproductive season when colony resources are plentiful. Despite their transient presence in the hive, drones have the important function of mating with virgin queens, transferring their colony's genes to their mates for the production of fertilized, worker-destined eggs. Therefore, factors affecting drone health and reproductive competency may directly affect queen fitness and longevity, having great implications at the colony level. Several environmental and in-hive conditions can affect the quality and viability of drones in general and their sperm in particular. Here we review the extant studies that describe how environmental factors including nutrition, temperature, season, and age may influence drone reproductive health. We also review studies that describe other factors, such as pesticide exposure during and after development, that may also influence drone reproductive quality. Given that sperm development in drones is completed during pupation prior to adult emergence, particular attention needs to be paid to these factors during drone development, not just during adulthood. The present review showcases a growing body of evidence indicating that drones are very sensitive to environmental fluctuations and that these factors cause drones to underperform, potentially compromising the reproductive health of their queen mates, as well as the overall fitness of their colony.

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“…After learning the location of their hive, drones search for DCAs [ 6 ], and after doing that they return to their hives or drift to other hives to feed [ 7 , 8 ]. Their orientation and return to the original hive and apiary depend on the characteristics of the landscape, such as cardinal points and slope [ 9 ]. The flights in search of DCAs have a longer duration (more than 30 min) than the orientation flights.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Honeybee Drone Activity during the Mating Season in Northwestern Argentina

Ayup

Gärtner

Agosto‐Rivera

et al. 2021

Insects

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Males in Hymenopteran societies are understudied in many aspects and it is assumed that they only have a reproductive function. We studied the time budget of male honey bees, drones, using multiple methods. Changes in the activities of animals provide important information on biological clocks and their health. Yet, in nature, these changes are subtle and often unobservable without the development and use of modern technology. During the spring and summer mating season, drones emerge from the hive, perform orientation flights, and search for drone congregation areas for mating. This search may lead drones to return to their colony, drift to other colonies (vectoring diseases and parasites), or simply get lost to predation. In a low percentage of cases, the search is successful, and drones mate and die. Our objective was to describe the activity of Apis mellifera drones during the mating season in Northwestern Argentina using three methods: direct observation, video recording, and radio frequency identification (RFID). The use of RFID tagging allows the tracking of a bee for 24 h but does not reveal the detailed activity of drones. We quantified the average number of drones’ departure and arrival flights and the time outside the hive. All three methods confirmed that drones were mostly active in the afternoon. We found no differences in results between those obtained by direct observation and by video recording. RFID technology enabled us to discover previously unknown drone behavior such as activity at dawn and during the morning. We also discovered that drones may stay inside the hive for many days, even after initiation of search flights (up to four days). Likewise, we observed drones to leave the hive for several days to return later (up to three days). The three methods were complementary and should be considered for the study of bee drone activity, which may be associated with the diverse factors influencing hive health.

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A Landscape Analysis to Understand Orientation of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Drones in Puerto Rico

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Social signals and aversive learning in honey bee drones and workers

Social signals and aversive learning in honey bee drones and workers

Factors affecting the reproductive health of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones—a review

Analysis of Honeybee Drone Activity during the Mating Season in Northwestern Argentina

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