Altering social cue perception impacts honey bee aggression with minimal impacts on aggression-related brain gene expression

Harrison, James W.; Palmer, Joseph H.; Rittschof, Clare C.

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51223-8

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Honey bees whose sensory perceptions were blocked by smoke exposure performed apparent and temporary suppression of aggression compared to those allowed to recognize typical social cues ( Harrison et al 2019 ). Smoke can affect whether droplets of venom are released with the stinger, although it may have no impact on the likelihood of the sting extending.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Mapping and Review of Landscape Fire Smoke (LFS) Exposure Impacts on Insects

Liu

Francis

Wooster

et al. 2022

Environmental Entomology

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Landscape fire activity is changing in many regions because of climate change. Smoke emissions from landscape fires contain many harmful air pollutants, and beyond the potential hazard posed to human health, these also have ecological impacts. Insects play essential roles in most ecosystems worldwide, and some work suggests they may also be sensitive to smoke exposure. There is therefore a need for a comprehensive review of smoke impacts on insects. We systematically reviewed the scientific literature from 1930 to 2022 to synthesize the current state of knowledge of the impacts of smoke exposure from landscape fires on the development, behavior, and mortality of insects. We found: (1) 42 relevant studies that met our criteria, with 29% focused on the United States of America and 19% on Canada; (2) of these, 40 insect species were discussed, all of which were sensitive to smoke pollution; (3) most of the existing research focuses on how insect behavior responds to landscape fire smoke (LFS); (4) species react differently to smoke exposure, with for example some species being attracted to the smoke (e.g., some beetles) while others are repelled (e.g., some bees). This review consolidates the current state of knowledge on how smoke impacts insects and highlights areas that may need further investigation. This is particularly relevant since smoke impacts on insect communities will likely worsen in some areas due to increasing levels of biomass burning resulting from the joint pressures of climate change, land use change, and more intense land management involving fire.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Mapping and Review of Landscape Fire Smoke (LFS) Exposure Impacts on Insects

Liu

Francis

Wooster

et al. 2022

Environmental Entomology

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“…rapidly gaping mandibles and attacking) that they showed toward live ants. Gaping of the mandibles is an aggressive behavior observed in a diversity of ant (e.g., Saar et al 2018;Sasaki et al 2014) and bee species (e.g., Harrison et al 2019;James et al 2022;Nieh et al 2005). This occurred before the bee made any physical contact with the ant-infused nectar, which suggests scent may be an important aspect of ant-experienced bees' recognition of Argentine ants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bumble Bee Avoidance of Argentine Ants and Associated Chemical Cues

Miner

Rankin

2023

J Insect Behav

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Bees provide pollination services in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. However, invasive ants that exploit floral nectar in these landscapes can compete with bees for resources, with implications for pollinator resource acquisition, plant fitness, and, ultimately, ecosystem function. While interference competition has been described between bees and nectivorous, non-pollinator antagonists, the behaviors and sensory mechanisms involved remain largely unresolved. Here, we studied the mechanisms by which invasive Argentine ants influence bee nectar foraging behavior. In a series of laboratory assays, we assessed the foraging behavior of bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) in response to live Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) or to a subset of ant chemical cues. Bees were clearly deterred by live ants at a nectar source: they consumed less, fed less frequently, and fed for a shorter duration when live ants were present. Bees were also deterred by a combination of olfactory and gustatory ant chemical cues, consistent with both innate and learned avoidance behavior. Naïve and ant-experienced bees were deterred through chemosensation of ants, feeding less from nectar infused with ant chemicals as compared to nectar lacking ants or their associated cues. Some ant-experienced bees showed a unique behavior, displaying aggression toward ants as well as in response to ant chemicals. The marked effects of this invasive ant on bee foraging behavior—through physical interaction and chemical cues—highlights Argentine ants as a serious pest whose control should be considered when developing pollinator conservation and management strategies.

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“…The exact position on the curtain varied, but corresponded to the spots where nestmates returning in parallel to the experiment could be observed. Due to the restrictions in observation on the surface of the bee curtain, the behavior of workers was categorized as either high-aggressiveness, which was characterized by persisting stinging and biting, or low-aggressiveness/neutral which was characterized by brief gentle tactile and visual contact with the dummy (based on categorization in Harrison, Palmer & Rittschof [ 43 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased complexity of worker CHC profiles in Apis dorsata correlates with nesting ecology

et al. 2022

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Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) are known to serve as discrimination cues and will trigger defence behaviour in a plethora of eusocial insects. However, little is known how about nestmate recognition ability selects for CHC diversification. In this study we investigate differences in CHC composition of four major honey bee species with respect to the differences in their nesting behavior. In contrast to A. mellifera, A. cerana and A. florea, the giant honey bee A. dorsata prefers to build their nests in aggregations with very small spatial distances between nests, which increases the probability of intrusions. Thus, A. dorsata exhibits a particularly challenging nesting behavior which we hypothesize should be accompanied with an improved nestmate recognition system. Comparative analyses of the worker CHC profiles indicate that A. dorsata workers exhibit a unique and more complex CHC profile than the other three honey bee species. This increased complexity is likely based on a developmental process that retains the capability to synthesize methyl-branched hydrocarbons as adults. Furthermore, two sets of behavioral experiments provide evidence that A. dorsata shows an improved nestmate discrimination ability compared to the phylogenetically ancestral A. florea, which is also open-nesting but does not form nest aggregations. The results of our study suggest that ecological traits like nesting in aggregation might be able to drive CHC profile diversification even in closely related insect species.

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Altering social cue perception impacts honey bee aggression with minimal impacts on aggression-related brain gene expression

Cited by 9 publications

References 49 publications

Systematic Mapping and Review of Landscape Fire Smoke (LFS) Exposure Impacts on Insects

Systematic Mapping and Review of Landscape Fire Smoke (LFS) Exposure Impacts on Insects

Bumble Bee Avoidance of Argentine Ants and Associated Chemical Cues

Increased complexity of worker CHC profiles in Apis dorsata correlates with nesting ecology

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